The Enchanted Demiguise Pelt Archway
by Jhetstar
Summary: Hermione fancies Ron, doesn’t she? So what will happen when the 6th Yr Prefects, including Malfoy, are forced to live with each other and encourage interhouse friendships at Hogwarts? HGRW then HGDM. For the Dramione fans. Also HPGW, NLHA.
1. Chapter 1: Sixth Year

**The Enchanted Demiguise Pelt Archway **

_**AN:** The following story may not be strictly consistent with all events and timelines in the Harry Potter world, as I do not have a good a memory as original authoress JKR or the die-hard fans. I intend to create a story that is just fun, so if it doesn't line up on the timeline properly somewhere, I apologize, but do let me know if I slip up. I am more concerned with writing a really good storyline, without placing emphasis on a lot of background fact. This is my first fan fiction attempt, after reading loads of excellent ones myself. All positive and negative criticism welcomed, as long as it is constructive. Thanks! I hope you enjoy my story.  
PS. I also apologize if it seems to take a bit to 'get into the guts' of the story. I always have and always will write far too much more than is necessary, as I go into a load of detail. This is just my writing style, so far. _

_**Disclaimer:** No profit made from this. Just fun. All characters belong to JK Rowling. However, I own the plot. So no ripping it off! __This disclaimer applies to the entire story. _

* * *

**Chapter One: Sixth Year **

Hermione craned her neck over the crowd of wizards, witches, steam, luggage trolleys and the noise of shouts and laughter, searching.

She had just arrived on Platform 9¾ ready to begin her sixth year at Hogwarts, and was feeling, for the first time on this platform, apprehensive and nervous. For it was not with happiness she searched the crowd, it was concern. She was looking for Harry.

After the tragic death of Sirius, Hermione's little world had been turned upside down in shock. Her best friends, Harry and Ron, and the Weasleys and the rest of the Order were devastated. He had only been out of Azkaban a short while, and was enjoying a second chance at being godfather to Harry for an even shorter while. Hermione had been sad for the loss of a great man, but even sadder when she thought of the future that had been stolen from him and Harry.

Sirius' death had hit Harry the hardest, of course. Harry was disbelieving, then angry, then in shock. Finally, Harry had turned quiet, and returned to his relative's house for the summer. He didn't spend long there, in fact he hadn't wanted to go back there at all. But for some reason he mumbled something about 'Dumbledore said' and, until Molly Weasley sent for him to come to the Burrow, Ron and Hermione (and presumably the others, as well) sent him letters of comfort. Remus Lupin had gone to fetch Harry, and by the time Harry arrived at the Burrow, he was somewhat more talkative, although at times he would slip into vague daydreams and often wouldn't respond to anyone talking to him, until the third or fourth time they attempted it.

Hermione nervously twisted a lock of hair around her finger and placed her last suitcase on the ground, where the Platform's steward retrieved it to place in the luggage compartment. Hermione hadn't seen Harry in the summer holidays, apart from briefly in Diagon Alley the day before, when they purchased all their supplies for the year. Hermione initially stayed at the Burrow, after which, leaving before Harry arrived, she had been obliged to follow her parents to France, where they holidayed in a small resort which was in fact rather wonderful, but Hermione spent a lot of her time indoors writing to Harry and Ron.

Suddenly, Hermione had a pair of arms flung around her from behind and Fred's voice laughed, "Don't scare too many years off the poor girl's life, George!" As George released her, she swung around to be confronted with half of the Weasley clan.

"Fred! George, you scared the life out of me!" Hermione exclaimed, "Hi Ginny," she grabbed her hand, "Ron!" Hermione pulled him into a one-armed hug.

"Ha ha! Hello Hermione," George laughed, and received a smack on the arm from Ginny.

"Where's Harry?" Hermione immediately asked, looking to Ron, "Isn't he with you guys?"

Ron shook his head, "In a minute, he's with Mum and the luggage." Ron pointed over to where they were standing, unloading the luggage at a steward's feet. Mrs Weasley was chatting and smiling encouragingly at Harry, who had a half-hearted smile plastered to his face but kept his head down.

Hermione nodded. "Has he gotten any better over the holidays?" she asked, "I mean, I know I saw him yesterday but surely he hasn't been like this the whole time? His letters seemed very short and vague, even more so than yours, Ron," she added, teasingly, a playful smile twitching at the corners of her mouth.

Ginny exploded into laughter, quickly shoving her hand over her mouth as Ron glared at her.

Turning back to Hermione, Ron sighed, "Unfortunately not. He's been fairly... depressed the whole time. Understandably," he added, "but at the same time, even Mum thinks he should have at least started to cheer up a bit more now that we're heading back to Hogwarts. If there's anything that can cheer him up, that will."

Hermione nodded in agreement, smoothing her voluminous hair, "I suppose we'll just have to wait and see once we get there."

Ron smiled at her wistfully, and Fred and George nudged each other.

Mrs Weasley and Harry walked up to the mostly red-headed group, where Hermione enveloped Harry in a soft hug.

"Hey Harry," Hermione said softly, "How are you?"

Harry gave her a squeeze and stepped back, looking at her with sad and slightly vacant eyes. "I'm okay, thanks Hermione," he mumbled, "It's good to see you."

Hermione glanced at Ron, and as Harry turned to speak to Ginny, Ron looked at her pointedly, which seemed to say, '_See... I told you so'_.

* * *

After a buoyant (Fred and George) and emotional (Mrs Weasley) goodbye, Hermione, Ron, Harry and Ginny stepped onto the Hogwarts Express.

As Harry and Ginny headed off down the corridor with Ron on their heels, Hermione grabbed the back of his robes and reminded him, "Ron, we have prefect duty, we have to go up the front, first."

Ron groaned, "I forgot."

"How could you forget, we've been prefects for a year, now!" Hermione snapped, in mock annoyance. "We'll see you guys in a bit," she added to Harry and Ginny.

Ginny waved them on and took Harry's arm, leading him down the passageway.

Ron and Hermione weren't the first prefects to arrive in the front compartment. Ernie Macmillon was there, along with Hannah Abbott and Anthony Goldstein.

"Hi guys," Anthony said, "Have you seen Padma? She's usually first to arrive anywhere and the Express has just started to move!"

"Sorry Anthony," replied Hermione, "I haven't seen her."

Just at that moment Padma squeezed into the compartment closely followed by Pansy Parkinson, who was carping about the way Padma's hair was done.

"It's so lame, I can't believe you actually think that looks good!" She squealed, reaching over to tug her twisted plaits, "You look like one of those pasty muggle porcelain dolls!"

"Funny," Padma retorted, scowling, "I thought _pasty_ muggle porcelain dolls consisted of a white-skinned complexion, but I suppose I'm wrong."

Pansy's smile slid off her face, realizing her blunder about Padma's darker complexion. She sat down in a huff, next to Malfoy, who had entered unnoticeably throughout this brief exchange.

Before anyone could say anything else, their instructions appeared in mid-air from a burst of flames.

Ernie reached out and grabbed the sheet of parchment, stood ostentatiously in front of them, cleared his voice and recited the instructions.

"Ron, Hermione, you two are to patrol the first two hours of the journey." He said.

Ron grinned, and Hermione agreed, get the work over with then relax the rest of the journey with their friends.

"Myself and Hannah, the second stint…" He continued.

As the instructions were read out, Hermione couldn't help but notice Malfoy's vacant expression. It was strange, he had not said anything patronizing to Ron or herself, in fact he had not said anything at all. If anything, she noticed because his behavior reminded her of Harry's. He sat there, boring a hole into the floor with his eyes, not even flinching when Pansy nudged him, after they received their instructions to work the third stint of the patrol.

Hermione shrugged inwardly, and put it from her mind. She stood up with the others, and left with Ron to begin their patrol.

* * *

"I wish you could have stayed at the Burrow for longer," Ron was saying, as they strolled along the passage of the Hogwarts Express, "It was so hard dealing with Harry a lot of the time, you would have known what to say to maybe wake him up a bit."

Hermione sighed, "Well, possibly, but it seems as though we are just going to have to wait for him to perk up in his own time. Everyone grieves differently, and for Harry, it may take a lot longer than we expect."

"He'll be better once we're at Hogwarts," Ron began indecisively.

"I'm sure he'll be fine," Hermione reassured him, placing a hand on his arm.

Ron paused, looking dumbly at Hermione's hand.

"Um..." He stuttered, looking up into her eyes, blushing, "Hermione, I... Um..."

"What?" Hermione asked, confused.

"Oh, isn't it disgusting," Malfoy said, appearing behind them, flanked by Crabbe and Goyle, "Weasley is hitting on a Mudblood."

Ron spun around, red in the face, "Shut it, Malfoy!"

They both leaned in threateningly towards each other, and Hermione grabbed Ron's shoulders and pulled him back, "No Ron," she started, "Malfoy's just being his usual self."

_About time_, she thought, _He's snapped out of his 'Harry' mood_.

"Gee, thanks Granger," Malfoy snapped, his eyes narrowing, "I appreciate the compliment."

And the three Slytherins pushed past them, sneering, and continued down the passageway.

Hermione released Ron and turned him to face her, "Don't worry about it, Ron," she pressed, "It's okay."

Ron shrugged, his head down, "I wasn't hitting on you," he mumbled.

Hermione stifled a laugh, not entirely believing him, "It's _okay_." She repeated.

And they continued their rounds, Hermione changing the subject to Hogwarts, although Ron continued to blush for another ten minutes.

* * *

Ron and Hermione encountered little trouble on their first patrol of the school year. Apart from telling off a second-year Hufflepuff hanging off a luggage rack to impress his female classmates, and dealing with a fourth-year Ravenclaw's charmed shoe running down the passageway, biting people's ankles, they came across no serious problems.

As they entered the compartment occupied by Harry, Ginny, Neville and Luna, Ron sank down onto a seat in mock exhaustion and Hermione giggled.

"It wasn't that bad, Ron!" She exclaimed.

She took a seat next to Neville, who was nursing a strange red ball of fluff in a pot. It made a noise like _chik chik_ every now and then.

"Neville, what on earth have you brought with you this time?" Hermione said not unkindly, genuinely interested.

"It's called Gemroot," Neville replied, "It's supposed to assist as a sort of calming draught when you squeeze it and breathe its fumes."

Before Hermione could reply, Luna interjected placidly, "It's a sister root to Gurdyroot, although the Gurdyroot's fumes are primarily used to ward of Gulping Plimpies."

Ginny shoved a fist in her mouth while Ron snorted, then coughed.

"Ah, I see." said Hermione, at the same time Ron mumbled, "I thought Gurdyroots were just big onions that strange people ate."

Harry shoved Ron in the ribs, with a slight smile on his face. Ron looked up surprised, but soon grinned. Harry had actually paid attention to the conversation!

To the other side of Harry, Ginny slightly leaned down onto his shoulder in lassitude.

"I'm so lethargic," She yawned, as Ron cocked his head at an angle, defiant at this obvious flirtatious act from his baby sister.

Harry replied quietly, warmly, "You haven't eaten yet, silly, that's probably why."

Hermione raised her eyebrows and Neville blushed, whilst Luna stared directly at Harry and Ginny, obviously wondering.

Ron stuttered, "Uh..." Before Hermione interpolated, "Any gossip circulating yet? Ron and I haven't heard anything."

"Dean Thomas is dating Lavender Brown," Luna stated, still staring at Harry and Ginny. "Ginny broke up with him, you know."

Ginny sat up slightly startled but nodded to Hermione, shrugging, "He was smothering."

At that moment, the door opened and the food trolley appeared, earning a huge grin from Ron and a chuckle from Harry, "There you go, Ginny!" He said.

They all purchased some Pumpkin Pasties, Orange Juice, Licorice Wands, Chocolate Frogs and Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans, with Luna making Neville turn green by filling her Pasties with Beans and taking a huge mouthful.

* * *

Finally, the small group arrived at Hogsmead Station and was conveyed by the horseless carriages to Hogwarts. Of course, Harry, Neville and Luna could see the Thestrals. Luna chatted to Harry about them and he didn't seem to mind.

Once settled at the Gryffindor table with the others (minus Luna, who had trotted off to her Ravenclaw table), Harry surprised them all by instigating a conversation, albeit just with Neville.

"Neville," Harry started, "You aren't really going to give her that Gemroot, are you?"

Neville dropped his gaze to the funny plant still in his lap and sighed, "I thought she might like it."

"Who might like it?" Ron butted in tactlessly, ignoring Hermione and Ginny's glares.

"Neville has this _thing_ for Hannah," Ginny said, glancing apologetically at Neville's horrified expression.

"I do not!" Neville exclaimed, "It's just… just…"

"It's okay!" Harry actually laughed, "It's extremely obvious, only to us, though. I'm sure she still has no idea."

Neville sighed with relief.

"It's actually a really good gift idea, Neville" Hermione reassured him, "Hannah is… a lovely girl and everything, but she does seem to be a very highly strung person sometimes. The calming properties you were talking about are very thoughtful and suitable."

Harry's eyebrows rose, impressed, "That's true. Good one, Neville!"

Neville beamed and turned pink.

Ginny giggled, until Ron whined, "When does the feast start, I'm hungry!"

Ginny narrowed her eyes in annoyance, but Hermione burst out laughing as she thought how typical Ron's words were of him.

"Honestly," Ginny said, "You'd think we were starving him at home."

* * *

After the sorting, and Gryffindor received their new first-year members, the feast began. They filled their tummies burstingly full and once again, the girls marveled with distaste at where Ron managed to fit his third and fourth helpings. 

While Ron was shoveling the last dregs of pudding into his mouth, Harry spoke again, "Malfoy doesn't look very happy."

Hermione looked over to the Slytherin table, where once again, Malfoy was vacantly boring a hole into the floor with his eyes.

"No," she agreed, "he was like that in our prefect meeting, too."

"Budd-he wazzan ass-toowus o'thatrain," Ron attempted, spraying pudding onto the table.

Hermione looked at Ron blankly, "Excuse me?"

But before Ron could swallow and answer her properly, she realized what he had said.

"He was rude to Ron and me when we were patrolling the Express," She confirmed to Harry, "But other than that… it's strange."

"Who cares?" Ron declared, obviously still stung by Malfoy's comment on the train.

Harry just looked thoughtful, and frowned in Malfoy's direction.

Dumbledore stood, quieted the crowd, and began the start-of-term announcements.

* * *

**_AN: In the real Harry Potter Series: (Information from Wikipedia...)_**

**_Gurdyroots:_**_ We first see the Gurdyroot when Luna Lovegood produces it from a pocket of her robes while searching for a message for Harry. She hands it to Ron, explaining that it is good for warding off Gulping Plimpies.__In appearance, the Gurdyroot looks like a large green onion. _

**_Prefects: _**_In Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Ron Weasley is appointed Prefect for Gryffindor, much to the amazement of everyone; it had been thought that Harry would be tipped for that job. Of course, nobody is surprised that Hermione Granger becomes a Prefect as well, and there is equally little amazement at the selection of Draco Malfoy for Slytherin House. Other prefects appointed at the same time are Pansy Parkinson from Slytherin, Ernie Macmillan and Hannah Abbott from Hufflepuff, and Anthony Goldstein and Padma Patil from Ravenclaw. _

**_Hannah's Highly Strung Personality: _**_Hannah is named a Hufflepuff prefect and later joins Dumbledore's Army in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, yet she also appears to be rather high-strung: she is so worried about the upcoming O.W.L. exams that she suffers a nervous breakdown because she feels she is too stupid to take exams, and has to be given a Calming Draught by Madam Pomfrey. During her practical Transfiguration O.W.L, she turns her ferret into a flock of flamingos in an errant attempt to vanish it. _

**_Ginny/Dean/Harry:_**_ In _The Half-Blood Prince_Ginny has just broken up with Dean Thomas, and she and Harry begin dating. _

**_Neville/Hannah:_**_ Hannah, as an adult, married Neville Longbottom and became the landlady of The Leaky Cauldron. _

**_Thestrals:_**_ They are visible only to those who have witnessed and accepted a death. In _Order of the Phoenix_ several characters were shown to be able to see Thestrals including Harry Potter, Rubeus Hagrid, Luna Lovegood, Neville Longbottom and Theodore Nott._


	2. Chapter 2: Prefects

_**AN: **__I'd appreciate any thoughts on my story, writing style, anything! Thanks! At the moment I feel as though I'm writing for a blank wall, with no comments! _

* * *

**Chapter Two: Prefects**

Professor Dumbledore announced the usual bans and rules, more for the first years' sakes, for they had little idea how things worked at Hogwarts. The muggle-borns, absolutely no idea at all, and they looked up at Dumbledore dazed at all this new information.

Hermione looked fondly at the small cluster of first years grouped down the end of their Gryffindor table.

_Were we ever that small?_ She thought to herself, before Ron mumbled, "Look at the little snot rags! We were never that small and geeky."

Hermione's jaw dropped and she discreetly punched him on the arm. It was a well-placed punch, however, and Ron groaned.

"And now," Dumbledore said, finishing up, "I would like you to meet our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Ao. I would like you to make her feel very welcome."

A petite, Asian woman stood to her feet, and smiled widely. She had long, sleek black hair held back with fluorescent hair clips and wore bright colours. Her fingernails were painted in different colours and she had gold bangles stacked up one arm. It was amazing that Hermione had not noticed her before, however as Professor Ao sat down again after the polite applause, she saw why. Her head hardly appeared over the huge staff table.

Ron giggled, and Ginny glowered at him.

"Wow," Harry whispered to Ginny, "She's certainly a bright one, isn't she?" Not unkindly, and Ginny turned dotingly to Harry and smiled.

As for Hermione, she wondered what she was like as a person, and more importantly, as a teacher. She was certain, though, that Professor Dumbledore would not appoint anyone who was less than capable.

As the crowd of students rose to head off to their house common rooms, Hermione reminded Ron again of their prefect duty.

"We have to go and take care of the 'little snot rags', Ron." Hermione said, rolling her eyes, "To show them where to go."

"Yeah, well," Ron assented, "I suppose I _do_ remember that part of our first year. It was pretty scary not knowing your way around."

Hermione stumbled, pleased at Ron's change of attitude, but said no more about it. She just offered him a smile, and Ron blushed, pleased.

"This way, first years!" Hermione called, gathering the youths around her.

As they headed out of the Great Hall, she heard, "Hurry up, brats. I haven't got all night!"

She turned, and saw Malfoy dragging one of the Slytherin first years by his robes, closely followed by the rest of them, looking terrified. Pansy held up the rear, prodding the unfortunate last girl in the back with her wand.

Ron shuffled the Gryffindor first years forward, while Hermione paused, scowling at Malfoy.

"Pathetic," she mumbled, as Malfoy met her eyes.

"Move it, Granger," Malfoy sneered, "As if I care what you think!"

Hermione just shook her head and continued on in the opposite direction with the Gryffindors, as Ron looked back at her, worried, and sending a foul look in Malfoy's direction.

"Are all of the Slytherins all like that?" One of the small girls asked Hermione, anxiously.

"Most of them," Hermione answered carefully, "But you don't need to worry about it; they're more bark than bite."

The girl kept on walking, reassured, although Hermione wasn't so sure.

* * *

After the first years were safely delivered to the Gryffindor common room, Hermione headed up to her dormitory to freshen up.

"She's so awesome," Parvati was saying to Lavender, "Did you see her nail polish?"

Hermione giggled, and greeted the girls.

"Gossiping already?" She asked, teasingly.

"Oh, boo!" Lavender answered, a playful frown on her face, "But you have to admit Hermione, that is one cool professor!"

"I don't know," replied Hermione, tying her hair back, "I haven't met her yet."

"Our first DADA lesson is tomorrow morning," Parvati said excitedly, "We'll meet her then!"

Lavender squealed, and Parvati flapped her arms elatedly.

Hermione chuckled, rolled her eyes and left the girls to head to her first prefect meeting of the school year.

* * *

Hermione collected Ron from one of the squashy armchairs in the Gryffindor common room, leaving Harry alone with Ginny.

As they walked out of the portrait hole, Ron looked back at them reluctantly.

"I'm not so sure it's good to be leaving them alone so much," Ron began.

Hermione laughed, "Don't worry about it, Ron. I think it's great that they're… you know, friendly."

Ron looked at her with wide eyes.

"You don't approve?" She asked him, lightly.

"Oh… Yeah… Well I suppose Harry's better than Dean, by miles," Ron consented uncertainly, "But… Oh, you know 'Mione… She's my baby sister, I'm just looking out for her."

"I don't think it's Ginny you should be worried about," said Hermione, giggling suggestively.

Ron looked at her, horrified.

"You don't… She's not… But I… No!" Ron managed, choking.

"Oh, grow up," Hermione playfully pushed him; "You know she's only a year younger than you, she's not a child anymore."

Hermione chuckled as Ron continued walking, his mouth still gaping open in shock.

* * *

Hermione and Ron were last to arrive at the prefect's meeting. The other prefects sat on chairs or the edge of desks in the empty classroom, while Dumbledore had conjured up a purple squashy armchair to the side, where he sat serenely, amusedly listening to the idle chatter.

"Ah," He said, silencing the others, "Our last two prefects have arrived! Let us begin."

Ron and Hermione sat down and listened with the others. Hermione noticed that Malfoy had slipped into his pensive mood again, and Pansy didn't look very happy with him, glaring at him out of the corner of her eye every now and then.

"This year," Dumbledore began, "You begin your study for the N.E.W.T.s. Although you haven't had a chance to specify your subjects with your Head of House yet, you still have a hard road ahead of you, whichever way you go."

He paused, and laced his fingers together in underneath his chin.

"Also, this year, you and your fellow classmates will be training and applying for your Apparation licence. You will need to announce this amongst your peers at some stage, although you will not need to worry about it until later on in the year."

Hannah raised her hand. "We will need a date, Professor, as some of the sixth years will still not have come of age, and will be asking about that."

Dumbledore nodded, "Yes, I will get the dates to you as soon as I have organized it all."

"And lastly," he continued, "I have a little surprise for you."

His eyes twinkled, as leaned back in his armchair and surveyed them all.

"We, that is, the other Professors and I, have decided that it would be… a good idea to give you prefects your own common room and dormitories this year."

They all looked around at each other, astounded. Ernie looked impressed, Hannah had her head cocked to one side in confusion, and Pansy looked disgusted.

"But why, sir?" Padma asked tentatively, at the same time Ernie said, "Jolly good idea!"

Dumbledore chuckled, "Well, now that Voldemort is back, there is a stronger need for inter-house unity more than ever." His expression grew serious, and Malfoy glowered more intensively at the floorboards.

"As prefects, you are the role models for your year, and the younger students, particularly the first years. With presenting the example that you are able to… get along with, or live with, your fellow prefects, although they are in different houses, will vastly encourage other students' inter-house friendships."

Hermione nodded, understanding Dumbledore's point, but she was still shocked at such a new idea. Her heart leaped inside her as she realized she would no longer be sharing a dorm with Parvati and Lavender, but then her stomach turned as she realized she would be sharing with Hannah, Padma and… Pansy?

_Ergh,_ she thought, _This isn't such a good idea at all!_

"Naturally, we understand that throwing you into new dorms with new people is a challenge." Dumbledore continued, "So we have designed more of a… a different structure. To reward you for your efforts, the girls and boys will still be in separate dormitories, but each one of you will get a more private room, as opposed to curtains. You will have your own bathrooms. What is important," Dumbledore finished, "is that you present a communal friendship outwardly."

"But sir," whined Pansy, "Can't we do that without having to live together?"

Dumbledore shook his head, and Hermione knew what he was going to say before he opened his mouth.

"You all had the chance last year when we requested it of you at the beginning of your prefect duties. I'm sorry," He bowed his head, "But your efforts didn't live up to our expectations."

Pansy scowled, but Ernie nodded in agreement, "You're right, Professor. We didn't make an effort as we should have. It is so much more important for us to take heed to your instructions now… now that things are more serious out there."

He looked out the window and Hannah shivered.

Ron was slightly pale but said, "So… the prefect common room. So, we have to use it now instead of our house ones?"

Dumbledore shook his head, "No, I do not intend to break you apart from your other house friendships, but we do encourage you to spend time in the prefect common room, as befits your responsibility."

Hermione smiled, thinking of how the Gryffindor common room often got quite rowdy. "It will be a quieter spot to do our homework and assignments."

Malfoy looked up from the floor and rolled his eyes, obviously holding back a snide comment.

Hermione narrowed her eyes at him, and Dumbledore's eyes twinkled again.

"Besides," Dumbledore said, standing to his feet and vanishing the purple armchair, "You just may want to spend more time in your new common room once you have seen it."

And, with an air of obscurity, he led the mystified prefects out along the corridor to take them to their new rooms.

* * *

_**AN:** Please review!_


	3. Chapter 3: The Archway

_**AN: **__Hopefully so far you like my story, and the details are at least kind of correct! I try to update as often as I can, when there's nothing to do at work! And I have noticed, it's funny how when you have such established characters, they seem to write the story for you! I have no idea where this story is going ..._

_I have one review at this stage thank you! __**minerdude**__ -- I have incorporated an idea into the story (in Chapter Four) so that Harry is not 'alone' in his dormitory at night. Thanks for your thoughts; I did not consider this before!_

* * *

**Chapter Three: The Archway**

The prefects whispered their comments and surprise amongst themselves as they followed Dumbledore along the corridor.

"This is unbelievable!" Ron said in an undertone to Hermione.

"Is that an excited _unbelievable_ or a dismayed _unbelievable_?" Hermione whispered back, putting her arm through his.

Ron blinked. "Er… not sure yet!"

Hermione chuckled.

Malfoy stared at her, but as soon as she caught his eye, he simply looked away, pushing Pansy's arm from his shoulder. Hermione frowned. _Git._

"And here we are!" Dumbledore exclaimed.

They had come to a stop somewhere on the third floor.

Hermione started, and whispered excitedly in Ron's ear, "This is the third floor corridor!"

She sighed exasperatedly as Ron gave her a confused look, "You know …_Fluffy._"

Comprehension dawned on Ron's face as Dumbledore rounded on them to begin his explanations.

"The entrance," said Dumbledore "Is right here, between these two suits of armour."

He indicated a space of about a metre wide, and appeared as a plain brick wall.

"You will remember these particular suits of armour because they are wearing prefect badges." His eyes twinkled.

"Er…" Said Anthony, pointing to the space, "That's just a brick wall."

_Talk about stating the obvious,_ Hermione thought, annoyed.

"Yes, yes," Dumbledore continued, "It certainly is. However, you forget we live in a _magical_ world." He looked at Anthony over the top of his spectacles.

"It is an invisible archway, somewhat similar to the entrance to Platform 9¾."

"Ahh," Hermione realized, as the others nodded their heads.

Dumbledore turned to face the wall, "It is enchanted, with a little help from Demiguise hair."

The others cocked their heads, apart from Malfoy, who nodded, and Hermione, who burst out, "Demiguise hair! They use it in invisibility cloaks, it is amazingly rare!"

Dumbledore chuckled, "Yes, yes you are quite right Miss Granger, although it isn't quite as rare as it's made out to be."

He leaned in to the group, "We have our own… Demiguise here, at Hogwarts." He paused, then added as an afterthought, "In the forest, I mean, not in the castle itself."

The others nodded, as Dumbledore finished, "And it has been enchanted so that no-one but yourselves, apart from staff members, may enter."

He put out an arm, and pushed it through the wall. It disappeared. And, his eyes twinkling back at the group, stepped forward and vanished from their sight.

They looked around at each other bemusedly, before Ernie led Hannah through the wall and disappeared. They were closely followed by Anthony and Padma. Pansy huffed as Malfoy pushed her forward, and glancing back at Hermione, he stepped through as well.

Hermione stepped forward to enter, and as she stepped through the momentary darkness of the wall, she felt Ron hands sitting gently on her waist. She was surprised, but it felt nice and she smiled.

* * *

Hermione gasped as she entered the prefect common room. It was beautiful.

The floor was covered in soft, midnight blue carpet. The walls consisted of a regal, dark timber. There were floor-length windows at the far end of the room, leading outside to a large balcony that looked to be the size of a front yard.

"To your left," Dumbledore swept an arm out, "Is your study area, library."

Hermione's eyes widened in excitement and Ron grinned at her.

The wall had two study nooks bent into the wall, with desks and spongy, cushioned bench seats. In between the nooks were ceiling-high bookcases.

"The centre of the room," continued Dumbledore, "your leisure area."

There were squashy armchairs and couches spread in the middle of the room, and a fireplace smack-bang in the centre of the room, which looked more like a campfire.

"And to your right, you have the privilege of your own snack food supply."

To the right, there was a kitchenette set into the wall, with a sink set next to a glass-fronted cupboard. Upon the glass shelves there were an array of food. There was a trash chute. Upon a small bench space was a silver machine that puffed and whirred.

"What is that, sir?" Asked Padma, pointing to the machine.

"That," said Dumbledore, turning to face the machine, "Is a delightful muggle contraption called a coffee-maker."

"However," he added, "It has been… modified. It will also give you tea, pumpkin juice and a limited amount of freshly brewed pepper-up potion, for when you are feeling a little snowed under with your studies."

Padma smiled, and Anthony said, "Cool!"

_Trust Dumbledore to remember the little things,_ thought Hermione appreciatively.

"Over here," Dumbledore directed, gesturing to a doorway next to the kitchenette, "Is the entrance to your rooms. We have already allocated rooms to you, so you will find your names on the doors."

"Your belongings are being moved into your rooms as we speak," Dumbledore added, his hands raised in front of him, answering their unspoken question.

"And before I leave you all to explore, there is one more thing."

Dumbledore turned around to face the archway in which they had just entered through.

"Beside the entrance, you can see your notice board."

Indeed, there was a large board posted on the wall, with several different messages written in different handwriting.

"Here," Dumbledore pointed, "Is your patrol roster, which will update each week. There are other pieces of news. Amended or new rules are posted here, along with notifications of student detentions, for your information."

"And here," he pointed again, "Is a duplicated, mini version of the current house points."

"Nice," murmured Ernie, appreciatively.

"You should have everything you need, but please let me know of any ideas you may have about improving the room."

Dumbledore turned to face them all again.

"Improve?" Squeaked Hannah, "This room is amazing!"

Ernie and Anthony nodded in agreement, and Padma was still staring at the notice board, impressed. Pansy was impressed, but tried to hide it with a smirk. Malfoy just stared at Dumbledore's chest, arms crossed. Ron was grinning widely, and Hermione knew what he was thinking: _Awesome._

Dumbledore chuckled, "Well, I'm glad you like it. I will leave you now; I have a staff meeting to get to."

As he turned to go, Hermione noticed the wall on the other side of the archway entrance was covered in mirrors.

"Professor," Hermione asked, pointing, "What are _they_ for?"

Dumbledore looked at the mirrors, smiled, and answered, "Fun mirrors. Just my touch."

The others looked bewildered, but Hermione laughed. She had seen these at a muggle county fair when she was younger.

Dumbledore's face turned serious, and added, "We all need to remember to laugh, when things get too serious."

And with a swish of his cloak, Dumbledore left the room.

* * *

Pansy turned and went straight to check out the rooms, and Malfoy headed over to the floor-length windows and disappeared outside.

Hannah and Padma giggled at themselves in the fun mirrors and Ron joined them, before going over to check out what food was in the glass cupboard.

Ernie stood in front of the notice board, reading.

As for Hermione, she headed straight for the bookshelves.

"Wow," She breathed. There were a lot of books there she had not seen before in the Hogwarts library. There were other standard tomes there, and Hermione suspected that they had been duplicated from the Hogwarts Library. The new ones, she realized, may have come from Dumbledore's private collection.

"This. Is. Awesome." Hermione stated, as Ron came up behind her, chowing down a Pumpkin Pasty.

"Mrrrfgh." Ron replied, nodding gleefully.

Hermione rounded on him. "You just had dinner!" She exclaimed, "And not just dinner, the _welcome feast!_ How can you possibly be _hungry_?!"

Ron had the decency to look slightly disconcerted as he shrugged his shoulders, then headed to the door leading to their rooms, gesturing that he would be right back.

Hermione rolled her eyes and turned to go and explore the balcony, completely forgetting that Malfoy had headed out there.

She pushed open the tall glass door and gasped yet again as she saw the balcony for the first time. It was the size of a small yard and was covered in plush, green grass. There were a couple of small, bushy plants scattered around in big purple, squishy-looking pots. They reminded Hermione of the armchairs Dumbledore often conjured up for himself.

"Wow!" She breathed, as she caught sight of a pond to her right. She bent down to look in the water and saw several spherical fish with legs and feet.

_So Gulping Plimpies _were_ real!_ She giggled; she _had_ to tell Harry and Ron about this!

In the centre of the pond however, was slightly different coloured water with a small set of steps leading into it. Hermione walked over and held her hand over the water – it was warm.

_No way – a spa!_ Hermione thought, excitedly. _This is beyond amazing!_

She stood and walked around the bush-trees towards the balcony edge, where she initially saw two telescopes aimed at the night sky, but stopped short when she saw Malfoy, who was leaning over the railing, an arm outstretched into thin air.

"What are you doing?" Hermione asked rather politely, before she could stop herself.

Malfoy turned, scowling.

"Granger." He acknowledged maliciously, "Ever stop to possibly consider why it is _warm_ out here?"

Hermione frowned, her retort stopped by the interesting truth of the question. It _was_ autumn, and outside the castle it had been chilly when they arrived. Three floors up on the outside of an ancient castle in autumn should have been freezing.

"Uh…" She replied, unsure of what to say. Was Malfoy actually _conversing_ with her, albeit nastily?

"Warming spell." Malfoy sneered, but turned back to the railing and stuck his arm out again, "But only until… here."

Hermione only remained silent, astonished at Malfoy's apparent politeness.

He turned, scowled at her lack of response, gave her a look of disdain and brushed past her, heading back indoors.

At the same moment, Ron appeared, having finished examining his new room and joining her out on the balcony.

"He…" Hermione started, shaking her head.

Ron looked concerned, and put a hand on her shoulder. "Are you okay? Was Malfoy being a git?"

Hermione slowly shook her head, but walked over to the edge of the balcony to the railing, and tentatively extended her arm into the night air.

Ron looked at her, perplexed.

Hermione gave a slight gasp, her hand reaching cold night air while the rest of her arm remained warm.

"A warming spell." Hermione repeated Malfoy's words, bemused.

She turned to Ron, explaining, "A warming spell has been put on this balcony, so that we don't get cold out here."

Ron grinned, convinced she was in her right mind, after all.

"You're a smart witch, Hermione," he said, throwing an arm around her shoulders, "I, for one, would never have noticed that."

Hermione only shook her head and smiled, knowing that it wasn't she who thought of it, but Malfoy.

She leaned against Ron's shoulder comfortably for a minute, then thought of Harry.

"We have to go and tell Harry about this!" She said, turning to face Ron.

Ron groaned, "As awesome as we think this is, I somehow don't think he's going to be happy for us."

* * *

_**AN: Notes on the real Harry Potter universe:**_

_**Demiguise Hair: **__Idea from invisibility cloaks: (info from Wikipedia) __Located in the Far East, the __Demiguise__ is incredibly hard to find, as it will turn itself invisible if it feels threatened. It is mentioned in __DH__ that many __Invisibility Cloaks__ are actually woven out of Demiguise hair. It is also mentioned that these cloaks become opaque over time. There are a number of different types of Invisibility Cloaks. All are very rare and expensive, and they may be spun from the pelts of __Demiguises__, magical herbivores that are found in the __Far East__, or are ordinary cloaks with a __Disillusionment Charm__ or a __Bedazzlement Hex__ placed on them. Over time, these will lose their invisibility ability, eventually becoming opaque._

_**Gulping Plimpies:**__ In __HBP__, we learn from __Luna Lovegood__ that Gulping Plimpies can be staved off by means of Gurdyroots. In DH, __Xenophilius Lovegood__ explains Luna's absence by claiming that she is down on the far side of the bridge, catching Plimpies for their supper. He says that many people have asked for the recipe for their Plimpy soup. In Magical Beasts And Where To Find Them, there is a description of Plimpies. Evidently these are approximately spherical fish with legs and feet. It is mentioned that __Merpeople__ can get irritated by their habit of hovering around, and will tie their feet together. A Plimpy with its feet tied together will drift helplessly until it manages to get its feet untied, which can take hours._


	4. Chapter 4: Harry

_**AN: **__Okay, so now I'm seriously thinking this will probably end up a very, very, very long story. Not necessarily 'drawn-out' long, but 'novel-length' long. I hope. So… jump in, enjoy the ride! I am! .._

_**Krazy Kara**__ – Thank you! The common room idea came from strange places in my imagination Lol. The midnight blue carpet and timber walls are regal and I took that idea from the Ravenclaw common room. The study nooks in the walls are like burrow holes, from Hufflepuff's. The rest are purely made up. I thought that the fun mirrors were a bit of a dim-witted touch from Dumbledore – but then again, in Fred and George's words, he _is_ so "pathetically dim-witted!" (GOF) But there is a more sensible reason behind it – to remind them to laugh when things get too serious (Ch3). It is there that Dumbledore's true wisdom shines._

_**MusicalCatharsis**__ – Thanks for your review, I agree that good fan fic stories take time. Please let me know if you think the quality is decreasing anytime and I will pull myself up. It's important to me to keep the quality. _

_Anyways, enough babbling! On with the story…_

* * *

**Chapter Four: Harry**

Ron and Hermione hurried back to the Gryffindor common room to tell Harry about their situation.

"He's going to think that Dumbledore wants him _cut off from everyone_," Hermione groaned, "Or something equally ridiculous!"

They rounded the last corner and appeared in front of the Fat Lady.

"He's already unstable as it is," Hermione added.

She turned to Ron. "How do you think he'll take it?"

Ron ran a hand through his thick, red hair and let out a breath, "I… He's not going to like it, at least initially. He'll lose his temper."

"And that's scary," He added.

Despite everything, Hermione giggled. "That's true…" She said.

"Are you ready to come in, or aren't you?" The Fat Lady spoke, annoyed.

Ron and Hermione turned around. "Sorry." Ron muttered, as Hermione hurriedly gave the password, and, with a huff, the Fat Lady swung forward.

* * *

Ginny looked up from where she was sitting on the couch, an arm through Harry's. Harry was looking quiet, perhaps moody, but not depressed.

"Hi guys," Ginny greeted them, "How'd it all go?"

"Good! It went good." Ron said, all too quickly.

Hermione rolled her eyes at Ron's lack of tact, but swiftly added in a calmer tone, "It went fine. Dumbledore reminded us that we will be very busy this year with our schoolwork, which of course, we had no idea about that." She added, slightly sarcastically.

Ron and Hermione took a seat opposite Harry and Ginny, and Ron picked up a nearby wizard's chess piece, examining it closely.

Ginny looked at him strangely, but Hermione ignored him and continued, "And we get to take our Apparation tests later on this year!"

"Oh _yay_ for you guys," Ginny scowled, "I still have to wait until next year."

Ron involuntary shivered, and Ginny looked at him, raising an eyebrow in question.

Ron whined, "It's the _splinching_ part that worries me."

"Splinching?" Harry looked up.

Hermione nodded grimly, "Yeah, it's when you leave a part of you behind."

"Gross!" Harry exclaimed, a look of horror on his face. Then he surprised them by bursting out into a wide grin, "Magic is so bizarre."

Hermione glanced at Ron, and they seemed to agree in that moment that it was best to announce the awkward news_ at least_ while Harry was smiling.

"Um, Harry," Hermione started, as Ron went back to studiously examining his chess piece, "There's some other news."

Harry's grin dropped from his face, "Well it can't be good news, or you wouldn't have announced it like that."

Ron glared at the chess piece fiercely and tapped it on the top with his finger. The chess piece had obviously had enough and bit Ron sharply, leaving him to exclaim, "Ouch!" and he stuck his finger in his mouth, threw the chess piece back onto the table and looked sulkily to Hermione.

"Well, you tell him Ron, seeing as you're trying to evade this conversation so much!" Hermione snapped.

Ron had the decency to look ashamed but said in a resentful tone, "Sigh… Well it's not _bad_ news; we're just not sure if you'll like it."

Harry sat back, crossed his arms and waited. Hermione gave Ron an encouraging, impatient look.

"Well…" Ron started, "Hermione and I are moving out."

Harry frowned, "Huh?"

Ginny squealed, "Oh! You two are a couple, and you want to live together!" Before she stopped short, frowned, then added, "Wait a minute, you're still at school."

Hermione groaned in exasperation while Ron exclaimed, "We are not!"

She stood to her feet, hands raised, silencing them all.

"It's not like _that_," she explained patiently, teeth gritted, ignoring Ron's pout. She took a deep breath, and slowly sat back down again.

"Dumbledore has decided that the prefects have their own common room and dormitories this year." She said plainly, "We still spend time in here, but sleep in another part of the castle. And spend time with the other prefects."

"It's supposed to help promote inter-house unity, and friendships." Ron offered eagerly, trying to make up for his inept attempt earlier.

Harry slowly leaned forward, placed his fingertips together not unlike Dumbledore, paused, then questioned, "A different _common room_? For eight people? And… Ron… moving out…" He stumbled.

"What's Dumbledore playing at?" Ginny frowned, "Surely they didn't need to do _this_ to promote…" Ginny looked to Ron, "_inter-house unity_."

"We had our chance before, but didn't 'live up to their expectations_'_." Ron said glumly, his chin in his hand.

"What?" Harry snapped, glowering at Ron's knees.

"We were asked to try and create inter-house friendships when we first became prefects last year," Hermione explained, alarmed at Harry's reaction. "And if you recall, even before that, when we held the Triwizard Tournament here in our fourth year."

"Yeah well," Ron scowled, "It worked _too_ well that year in my opinion."

Ginny smirked at Hermione, who frowned.

"The point is," She said, "Is that we have not made enough of an effort, and now that things… _out there_ are getting worse, it's important for Hogwarts as a whole to bind together as one, in unity."

Harry stood to his feet. "Being _friends_ with… Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff is fine and dandy," he blushed, and they knew he was thinking of Cho, "But _Slytherin_? That's like trying to make friends with Voldemort himself!"

Ron grimaced, but Harry continued, "Anyhow, why is Dumbledore making it such a _priority_, making _friends_? Like that's going to help any when Voldemort is out there murdering innocent people!"

Other Gryffindors were starting to look over at the small group and Hermione shushed him urgently, "Sorry to shush you Harry, but can we be a tiny bit more discreet?" She grimaced, looking terrified at Harry's expression.

Harry glared at her and sat down abruptly, then turned his expression to Ron, who was cowering, hiding his head in his hands.

Ginny put her arm through Harry's in a subtle bid to calm him down.

"You know there is some sense in it, Harry." Hermione started, tentatively. "You _know_ the secret weapon is love, and what better way to fight him with _friendship_. I know it sounds too easy, but it's _true_."

"There's slightly more to it than that, Hermione," Harry replied, sighing, "But I suppose you _are_ right, it can't hurt, certainly."

Ron looked up, sensing that the worst of the storm was over.

"It's just… _I'm_ the one who has to defeat him eventually," He started, uncertainly, "And… If you are saying that friendship, or _love, _is going to help in the fight to defeat Voldemort, then… why is Dumbledore taking my two best friends away from me?"

Harry slumped in his seat, looking sad. Ginny looked to Hermione anxiously.

"Harry," Hermione exclaimed, "Dumbledore is _not_ taking your friends away from you! All he is trying to do is help the greater good of Hogwarts as a whole, and Ron and I just happen to be prefects, who are in charge of this particular mission."

"Besides," She added earnestly, "You will still see Ron and I _all_ the time!"

"Yeah mate," Ron nodded eagerly, "We'll still eat meals together, go to our classes together, spend time here, and everything!"

Harry sighed.

"It will hardly change anything between us," Hermione finished, "_and_ we'll be helping others in the fight to defeat Voldemort."

"Go on, Harry," Ginny encouraged him, "I think she's right, it's all going to be okay."

Harry sighed again, patted Ginny on the knee, and stood up. "Be back in a sec…" he said, and headed to the boy's dormitories.

Hermione frowned, "What's he doing?"

Ron shrugged, "No idea…"

"Do you think he's really okay with all this now?" Hermione asked nobody in particular.

Ginny shrugged, imitating Ron, "Only time will tell…" She trailed off.

They sat in awkward silence, waiting for Harry to return.

Harry appeared again, carrying a small parcel. Sitting down next to Ginny again, he looked at Ron.

"Seeing as you will be in a separate dorm now," he began, "You should have this."

He thrust the small parcel into Ron's lap, who looked at it, bewildered.

Harry gestured for him to unwrap it, which Ron did, cautiously.

It was a small, framed mirror. Ron looked up at Harry, certain that he had gone bonkers.

Harry chuckled slightly, "It's a _2-way_ mirror."

Hermione's expression changed to one of comprehension, but Ron raised his eyebrows, questioning.

"Sirius," Harry gulped, "and my father used to use them when they had detentions. Si… Sirius gave me one last year, but I never used it. Now… now we can make use of them. I have one, now you have the other."

"You can communicate through them!" Hermione told Ron, who finally understood.

"Wow," Ron breathed, "This is cool. Thanks, Harry."

"No problem," Harry said, as Ginny gave his arm a fond squeeze.

Hermione smiled contentedly at the way everything had turned out, and then she turned apologetically to Ron, "We really have to get going, now." she said, "Curfew is soon."

Harry sighed, and then shrugged, "Here goes!"

Hermione gave Harry a quick hug, whispering, "Thanks!" in his ear.

Ron and Hermione waved goodbye, climbed out of the portrait hole, and headed for their new beds.

* * *

_**AN:**__ Please review!_

**2-way Mirror:** _Harry is given a 2-way mirror by Sirius in OOTP so that they can communicate with each other. After Sirius dies, Harry tries to contact him with his mirror after he finds it in his trunk at the end of the year. When it doesn't work, Harry smashes it. For my story, I have left Harry's mirror intact, so that he can communicate with Ron while he's in the prefect dorm._


	5. Chapter 5: Night One

_**AN: **__Okay, so that wasn't perhaps the most dramatic of scenes, but Harry isn't himself right now. Usually he is entirely hot-headed and has a flaming temper, but the death of Sirius has somewhat quieted him, for the meantime. As time goes on, he will have trouble dealing with the change of Ron not being around in his dorm, and Hermione not bugging him to do his homework as much!_

_Thanks for your comments, I really appreciate them. They help me to write a better and well guided story._

_**Annieboo92: **__I will be pairing Hermione/Ron and Hermione/Draco at separate times. In my story, Ron and Hermione feel they have fancied one another for a long time, and they get together fairly quickly at this stage. However, at the same time Hermione very subtly and slowly notices Draco, then very subtly and slowly develops feelings that she takes a long time to even realize are there. Many Hermione/Draco pairings are ruined by moving far too quickly and unrealistically, so I really want to aim for a painfully slow-to-begin pairing there. However, Hermione does not get together with Draco until her and Ron are very well over. I do not think that Hermione is the cheating kind, so there will be nothing of the sort in my tale. _

* * *

**Chapter Five: Night One**

"Well, that wasn't so bad!" Ron said cheerily, as he and Hermione headed down the third floor corridor to their prefect rooms.

Hermione grimaced, "Yeah…"

"What?" Ron asked her, frowning. "Harry hardly raised his voice at all."

"That's what worries me," Hermione pointed out, "he's not his usual self."

Ron wondered, then shrugged, "I suppose you are right."

When Hermione continued to look worried, Ron laughed and put an arm around her shoulders, "'Mione, he'll be okay. You yourself said he'll take his own time to get back to his normal self, and we have no idea how long that's going to take!"

Hermione managed a small smile, but still looked a little upset.

Ron sighed, stopped, faced Hermione, put his hands on her shoulders and looked her square in the eyes.

"Is that all that's bothering you?" He asked her, gently, "Now, _you_ don't seem yourself."

Hermione felt emotional and tired, and couldn't prevent a tear escaping. In the next moment, more tears followed.

"Hermione…" Ron said concernedly, before stepping forward and wrapping her in his arms.

Hermione sobbed into his shoulder, "I'm… I'm sorry, I'm jus worried 'boud Harry 'n' it's been a bi… big day 'n' I'm tired."

"Shh…" Ron replied, surprisingly tenderly, which calmed Hermione down more than any of his warm embrace or gentle patting of her back.

Hermione sniffled, and pulled back just a little, so that Ron still held her, his arms around her waist.

She wiped her eyes on her sleeve, "Thanks Ron…" She attempted, before giving a slight hiccup.

Ron chuckled softly, and Hermione glanced up at him, pouting involuntarily.

He was looking at her wistfully, and for a moment she very much thought he would kiss her. She felt light-headed, and didn't think it was because of exhaustion.

Instead, Ron swallowed slightly and said, "You know… you are beautiful, Hermione."

Hermione's heart skipped a beat. Already emotionally tempered, she felt deeply affected by Ron's simple, heartfelt statement. Another tear escaped, before she swiftly closed the gap between them and kissed him soundly.

As she pulled back, she felt slightly panicked, had Ron wanted that?

Ron stood holding her, unmoving. "Hermione," He stumbled, clearly pleased, before pulling her into another warm embrace.

Hermione sighed with relief, knowing that that was, indeed exactly what Ron had wanted.

She giggled suddenly, pulled away and wiped away the remaining tears from her cheeks.

"…What?" Ron asked her, confusedly, although with a grin plastered to his face as well.

"What… what is it, wi… with Harry and you, kissing girls while they're crying?" She giggled weakly, thinking of Harry's first kiss with Cho.

Ron frowned briefly in confusion, before realizing what she meant, and chuckled himself.

"Funny," he granted, before gently pulling her to him again and kissing her warmly.

* * *

Ron and Hermione entered their new prefect common room with massive grins on their faces. Hermione felt extremely goofy and not entirely herself, in a way that was quite opposite to poor Harry.

"What are you two so manically happy about?" Anthony asked them, as he took a mug of hot tea from the coffee-maker.

Hannah and Padma looked up from the campfire where they had been chatting animatedly, and Hannah raised an eyebrow.

"Oh… nothing!" Hermione said, before succumbing to an attack of the giggles.

Ron grabbed her hand, chuckling at this strange version of Hermione, and dragged her to the door of the rooms, leaving the others in complete bewilderment.

Once through the doorway, Ron gave Hermione a quick peck on the cheek goodnight, which Hermione countered with another weak giggle.

"I… I'm sorry," She gasped, "I have no idea what came over me!"

Ron just grinned at her, and said fondly, "You're a strange one, aren't you?"

Hermione waved him on, "I'll see you tomorrow."

The two separated, and as she walked down the other end of the small corridor she realized that she hadn't even seen her new room yet.

* * *

Hermione found the door imprinted with her name, and carefully pushed it open.

She gasped, _Wow_. Dumbledore had done it again. Closing the door behind her, she took a moment to just look around and appreciate everything.

Immediately to her left was a small writing desk complete with fresh parchment, ink and quills. Her bed filled up the better part of the room, with an enormous quilt and a fluffy, chocolate brown blanket folded on a small trunk at the foot of the bed. She presumed her belongings were stowed in the trunk, and stepped over to lift the lid.

Once satisfied everything was present and accounted for and indeed, were hers, she turned and sat on its top. To the right side of her room was a tall wardrobe and mirror. A portrait hung in one corner and she stood to go and inspect it.

_Oh my… _She thought, hand to her mouth in delight. It was a simple family photograph of the Grangers, one that had been taken two summers ago whilst skiing in the mountains of France. Her mother and father smiled back at her, unmoving. Of course, it had been taken by a normal, muggle camera and thus did not move as other wizarding portraits did. But for this reason, Hermione adored it even more.

_Dumbledore really is a wonderful person,_ she thought, and made a mental note to write to him with her thanks.

She turned, and saw the small doorway that led into her private bathroom.

_Oh, _thought Hermione happily, _this will be ab-so-lute heaven! No more Parvati and Lavender's ridiculous make-up spread out everywhere…_

She inspected the simple bathroom layout with pleasure, and immediately began stripping off her clothes for a warm, soothing shower before she crawled into bed.

* * *

The next morning, Hermione awoke slowly and sweetly, and stretched her arms out in comfortable pleasure.

_Good morning, beautiful Hogwarts!_ She thought, sighing gently.

_Oh, _Hermione thought suddenly, her arms dropping abruptly to the bed, _I kissed Ron Weasley last night._

She smiled, but started to panic slightly. _Does this mean we are… together now?_ She asked herself, _Oh no, I'm not sure I want to be in an actual relationship! I've only been at Hogwarts a day!_

But then she chastised herself, _Don't be silly, Hermione, you've always wanted to be with Ron, haven't you?_

Hermione shook the thoughts from her head, yawned widely and sat up, swinging her legs over the side of the bed.

_Let's just see how things go, shall we?_ She reasoned with herself, rubbing her eyes.

* * *

Hermione checked her reflection one last time before she left her room to start the day. She never bothered much about her looks, but now that she supposed she had a _boyfriend_… for some reason she began to stress out about everything.

_That isn't good,_ she groaned, _I'm going to be stressed out enough as it is with schoolwork._

She waved her reflection away irritably and hurriedly left her room.

_Wham! _She ran straight into one of her least favourite persons – Pansy Parkinson.

"Watch it, Granger!" She shrieked, hands flying to her hair, checking to see if it was still heavily sprayed down with gunk. "You are a complete idiot!"

Malfoy appeared from his room, frowning at the commotion.

"As opposed to a partial one I suppose?" Hermione snapped, irritably, picking up a hairclip that had come unfastened in the collision.

Before Pansy could present another unintelligent response, Malfoy grabbed her arm roughly, pushing her out to the common room.

"Ow!" Hermione heard her complain, as Malfoy glanced back at Hermione, seemingly looking to see if she was okay.

Hermione cocked her head in confusion, _Nah… as if. Actually, I did detect a hint of disdain, as usual of course; he was probably just thinking how gross Mudbloods are…_

Hermione shook her head, realizing she was standing in the passageway thinking strange thoughts to herself, let alone about what _Malfoy_ was thinking.

She entered the common room, and was greeted by Ernie and Padma sitting down together, discussing the classes they had applied to take for their N.E.W.T.s.

Hermione smiled – it was really good to see that inter-house friendships were forming steadfastly. She walked over and retrieved a mug of coffee from the coffee-machine, then walked over to the notice board and read, sipping her coffee.

_Sixth Years will report to their Head of House's Offices immediately after breakfast, to confirm that their subjects have been chosen correctly for the N.E.W.T.s._

She turned, walked over to Ernie and Padma and said confusedly, "I heard Parvati and Lavender say that they have their DADA class this morning – how could they have known that if classes haven't been confirmed yet?"

"Oh," Ernie replied assuredly, "A lot of students had them confirmed by owl just before school started, but those who haven't were either away from home or their classes haven't been approved."

"Ah," Hermione replied, nodding, realizing that she was out of the country at the time.

"By the way," She added, "Have you seen Ron?"

Padma shook her head, but Ernie said, "Yeah, he was up fairly early, right after me. He's already gone down to breakfast, I presume."

They resumed their conversation, leaving Hermione a little puzzled and put out. Why hadn't Ron waited for her?

* * *

_**AN:**__ I apologise if you think the chapters are a little short, however I would prefer to write shorter chapters and update more often, rather than write big ones and only post them every couple of weeks! It keeps the story flowing more smoothly, and you as the reader get updates more often. Hopefully you agree!_

_Please review! Thank you!_

_PS: You may also notice that I have changed the summary... _


	6. Chapter 6: Mental

_**AN: **__Thank you for all your wonderful reviews! I am glad that you are enjoying the story as much as I am .. The content in this chapter was written almost by the characters themselves, Oh! how I love them!_

* * *

**Chapter Six: Mental**

Hermione ambled towards the Great Hall for breakfast, feeling a little worried and at the same time, annoyed.

_Why didn't Ron wait for me?_ She asked herself, over and over.

She pulled herself up, _No, Hermione, see – here you go again! Stressing over potentially nothing. Stress is not good. There is probably a perfectly good reason why he didn't wait for me._

"Snap out of it," She finished, mumbling out aloud to herself.

"Talking to yourself is slightly mental, you know," A familiar voice said from behind her.

Hermione swung around, "Ron! There you are!" She blushed, before adding, "Hi Harry."

"Morning Hermione," Harry grinned, raising an eyebrow suggestively.

Hermione fell into step with them, blushing furiously, _Of course, _she groaned inwardly, _Ron would have rushed off to tell Harry first thing!_

She balled up her fists, embarrassed, and chastised herself for stressing out over nothing.

"So," Harry said cheerfully, "Lovely morning!"

Ron elbowed him, and Hermione groaned, "Yes Harry, thank you," acknowledging the taunt behind the words.

Harry laughed and threw his arms around his best friends.

Hermione caught Ron's eye and couldn't help but grin widely. Despite the embarrassing reason, they couldn't help but be delighted that Harry was in this good of a mood.

* * *

"Have you had your subjects approved yet?" Hermione asked Harry, as she sat in between the boys at the Gryffindor table for breakfast.

"No," Harry groaned, his good mood deflating slightly, "I only got an 'E' in Potions and Snape threatened to only take 'O' students into his N.E.W.T.s class."

Ron grimaced, "Me too."

"Oh," Hermione said, disconcertedly, not wanting to mention that she had passed all of her O.W.L.s with flying colours.

"Well," she offered uncertainly, "I'm sure you'll be able to work something out. Dumbledore's a fool if he lets Snape quash your dream of becoming an Auror, Harry. You've faced Voldemort more times than anyone and survived."

"Hey," Ron interjected, about to shove a large piece of bacon into his mouth, "What about me?"

Hermione faltered, "Of course you should be able to become an Auror too, Ron. All I meant with Harry is that he's faced Voldemort and fought him."

Ron sulked, and didn't say any more. Hermione rolled her eyes irritably and turned back to Harry.

"Maybe," Harry said to her, "What about you? Actually, on second thought," Harry interrupted himself, "I don't even really need to ask that question."

He grinned at her as she blushed modestly, and she simply replied, "But I haven't had my subjects approved yet either, so we will all have to go and see McGonagall together."

She prepared herself a bowl of porridge, trying to ignore the realization that she didn't think Ron's abilities near equal to Harry's.

* * *

As the trio finished their breakfast and stood to leave, Ron clasped Hermione's hand gently in his own.

She smiled, and looked up at him affectionately. She felt warm and fuzzy inside. It was a nice feeling.

They stepped past the Ravenclaw table where Luna sang out a "_Hello"_ and her eyes widened in excitement when she noticed Ron and Hermione's hands were joined. She hurriedly turned to her companion to relay the exciting news, making Hermione feel rather bashful.

However, as they passed the dreaded Slytherin table at the far end of the hall, the fact that Ron and Hermione's hands were joined did not generate any excitement. In fact, Hermione's hand even twitched, tempted for a moment to pull away from Ron so that they did not draw attention to themselves, but of course this would have been rude and probably hurt Ron's feelings, so she swallowed it down and held her head a little higher, preparing herself for the oncoming insults.

Surely enough, "Check it out! Weasley's got himself a Mudblood girlfriend!" A 5th year girl, faithful follower of Pansy Parkinson, squealed.

Pansy swung around, took one look at them and sneered.

"Blood traitor," she attempted, "That is so filthy!"

Ron glared at her, but Hermione feigned ignorance. She intuitively waited for the sting of Malfoy, but when it didn't come, she glanced back in momentary confusion. There were plenty of Slytherins scorning and sniggering contemptuously at them, but her eyes fell on Malfoy, who was studiously glaring at his toast, looking furiously miserable. However, for some reason, Hermione got the impression he wasn't even aware that they had walked past. She shrugged inwardly, but felt strangely disturbed.

As soon as they were out in the hallway, Harry confirmed her thoughts, "Well I knew that was coming to you two," he said apologetically, "but I was expecting Malfoy to have a dig. He obviously has something very important on his mind to ignore a chance to have a go at us in some way."

Ron scowled indifferently, "It's a nice break. I don't care."

But Harry pressed, "He's up to something. It's not right."

"He's been like that since he got here," Hermione offered, patting Ron on the arm.

"Exactly." Harry finalised, as if this proved it.

They lined up outside McGonagall's office with a couple of other sixth years, and waited. Hermione smiled as Ron put an arm around her waist, but she watched Harry worriedly, as he stared at the floor in a seemingly frustrated, pensive mood.

* * *

Hermione was the first of the three to be called into McGonagall's office. She stepped through the doorway and closed the door behind her.

"Good morning, Professor." Hermione greeted her, happy to see her favourite teacher again.

"Morning, Ms. Granger," Professor McGonagall replied kindly, "I see you were out of the country last week?"

"Yes," Hermione replied, "I only got back home a couple of days before school started again."

"I see," Professor McGonagall said, and pulled out a sheet of parchment from a rather large pile and examined it over the rims of her reading spectacles.

"Well," She said, with an air of finality, "I see absolutely no reason why you shouldn't be able to study all of your chosen subjects this year. You positively excelled in your exams."

Hermione blushed modestly, pleased.

"Here you are," Professor McGonagall said, and with a flourish of her wand, presented Hermione with her timetable.

"Thanks Professor," Hermione said, and stood to leave.

"By the way," Professor McGonagall stopped her, "How is the new prefect room coming along?"

"It's wonderful!" Hermione answered eagerly, "We are all starting to get along fairly well already!"

Professor McGonagall smiled, but raised an eyebrow.

Hermione, knowing what she meant, added, "Well, most of us. I'm not sure I see Malfoy and Pansy making friends with the rest of us."

"Well," Professor McGonagall replied, "I understand the challenge but you really should make an effort. Making friends with a Slytherin is never easy, seeing as they have a very… restricted opinion of everyone else who's _not_ in Slytherin."

Hermione nodded in agreement.

"However," Professor McGonagall continued, "_Do_ make an effort. You are intelligent and mature enough to know that there is a far more important reason behind this plan than just making new friends."

"Yes Professor," Hermione acquiesced, "Dumbledore explained it to us. Hopefully they (Pansy and Malfoy) understand the reason behind it as much as the rest of us."

"So do I, Miss Granger," Professor McGonagall concluded, "So do I."

* * *

Hermione decided to head up to the Gryffindor common room while Ron and Harry had their turns speaking to McGonagall. She wanted to visit Ginny, and talk to her about what had happened with Ron.

_She is SO going to laugh at me,_ Hermione inwardly groaned, embarrassedly.

Ginny had been predicting this union for some time, only mostly directly to Hermione through sly, knowing glances and snide, obscure comments that others didn't comprehend the full meaning of.

"Friendship," She declared to the Fat Lady, who swung forward for Hermione's admittance.

As she entered the common room, she was immediately pounced on by the young woman herself, Ginny.

"Hermione!" She exclaimed, jumping up from an armchair, "Harry said you have big news and he was _so_ annoying, he wouldn't give _anything_ away! Does Ron know?"

Hermione laughed, yes, Ron definitely knew, considering the news directly concerned him, too.

"Yes," Hermione chuckled, "He knows. In fact, it's probably just as much his news as well." And she sat down abruptly, knowing that, with Ginny's quick mind, she had just given it away.

Sure enough, Ginny's features spread into a wide, bright grin.

"I _knew_ it!" She punched Hermione on the arm, and ignoring her lighthearted cry of "_Ow_!" she continued, "I _absolutely_ knew it. It was becoming _so_ obvious; it was just a matter of time!"

Hermione pouted, "It wasn't _that_ obvious!"

"Ha… Er… Yes it was!" Ginny laughed, then paused, put her finger to her lip and frowned, thinking. "Yes… that would be right…"

"Er," said Hermione, "What?"

Ginny had the decency to blush as she told her, "Heh, well let's just say I won a bet."

"What!" Hermione cried out, then said more quietly, menacingly, "_What are you talking about, Ginny_?"

Ginny waved her hands in front of her, defensively, "Hey, don't worry about it; it was just between Harry and me! He bet you guys wouldn't get together until a little later on in the school year, but he is _wrong_!" She pulled her fist in triumphantly.

Hermione groaned, defeated, and flung her arms out in a wide shrug, "Some friends I have!"

Suddenly, Hermione sat up straight and pointed her finger in Ginny's face, "Hey! What about you and _Harry_?" She accused, "If Ron and I were so damned obvious, you guys may as well have big, flashing signs on your foreheads declaring _your_ feelings for one another!" She crossed her arms triumphantly.

Ginny's mouth gaped, in mock disbelief at Hermione's supposedly brutal words.

"I… I…" She attempted, before dropping her disbelieving expression and simply dissolving into giggles.

Harry and Ron entered the Gryffindor common room to see Ginny and Hermione holding their stomachs, giggling helplessly, beyond all aid.

They simply looked at each other bemusedly, shaking their heads.

"Mental," Ron said.

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_**AN: **__Please review!_


	7. Chapter 7: Pairs

_**AN: Thanks for your reviews, I really appreciate them.**_

_Krazy Kara – I understand your impatience, but you will find out when the time is right! After all, JKR didn't spill until the end of HBP when Malfoy admitted to Dumbledore that he let the Death Eaters into Hogwarts via the cabinet, when he was on the Astronomy Tower… Good stories take time, good plots take time to develop and I hope you will bear with me! Thank you!_

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**Chapter Seven: Pairs**

Ron sat down cozily next to Hermione, smiling at her fondly. Harry took his place beside Ginny, who was smirking at Hermione, who blushed. After these proceedings took place, Hermione realized, "Oh!" and turned to Harry.

"Did you get into N.E.W.T. Potions?" She asked.

Harry grinned, "Yeah, McGonagall didn't say, but I suspect Dumbledore leaned on Snape to let 'E' students through, otherwise he wouldn't have had hardly any 6th year Potions class!"

"That's great!" Hermione said, pleased. Now the three of them could study their Potions N.E.W.T. class together.

Ron nodded, chuckling, "Yeah, apparently Harry and I did fairly well compared to some of the other students."

"Although he gave Malfoy an 'O'," Harry scowled, "We heard him bragging about it in the hallway."

"Oh, so he's back to his usual self?" Hermione asked indifferently.

"Yeah, I suppose so," Harry said, "But I _still_ think he's up to no good."

"What on earth could he possibly be up to?" Ginny said, disregarding the idea.

Harry frowned, "Just about anything."

* * *

The trio said goodbye to Ginny, Harry giving her a peck on the cheek.

As they walked away, Hermione chided, "Harry, are you and Ginny an item or not?"

Harry's eyes widened, "Huh?" then looked nervously to Ron.

"Mate, it's okay," Ron assured him, "I just wish you'd make it official or something."

"Yeah," Hermione agreed, "It's already quite obvious to everyone else; you should be the gentleman and at least ask her out."

Harry reddened, "I didn't think it was obvious…" he mumbled, and shoved his hands in his pockets.

Ron snorted derisively, and Hermione said, "That's what Ginny said about Ron and me… But apparently you lost your end of the bet," she raised an eyebrow.

Harry looked up guiltily and Ron inquired, "Huh? What bet?"

"Harry bet Ginny that we wouldn't get together until later on in the year, but apparently Ginny guessed we'd get together fairly quickly. And thus, Ginny won." Hermione told Ron, ignoring an imploring look from Harry.

Ron rounded on Harry, "Some mate, Harry!" But he smiled, and Harry grinned guiltily.

"Sorry," Harry countered, "But you were glaringly obvious, mate. When Hermione was away in France, all you could do was talk about her!"

Ron turned bright red, and said to Hermione quickly, "That's not true!"

Hermione giggled, "It's fine, Ron, you can stop denying it now that we're together."

Ron grumbled, "Sorry. I'm just used to denying that I think you're the most beautiful woman in the world."

Hermione squealed in delight and jumped on him in a bear hug.

Harry laughed, and said to Ron, "Who is this and what have you done with our Hermione?"

* * *

The sixth-year N.E.W.T.s Defense Against the Dark Arts class sat at their desks in anticipation, eager to meet their new teacher, Professor Ao.

Well, most of them.

"What's the big deal?" Ron whined, "It's still schoolwork."

Hermione looked shocked, and Harry hastily said, "Ron, you forget that this is probably the most important class we can take. It's important we get a good teacher. That's all I'm worried about finding out."

Hermione nodded, "Thank you Harry. By the way, when are we going to start up the DA again?"

"I don't know," Harry shrugged, "We may not need it as much if this class turns out to be pretty good, but at the same time, it doesn't hurt to practice things we learn here I suppose…"

"Yes," Hermione cut him off firmly, "It never hurts to practice. Homework for practical defense – you can never have enough of it."

Ron groaned slightly, at the thought of unnecessary homework, Hermione supposed, and glared at him.

"Okay, okay," He assented, but before he could defend himself any more, Professor Ao bounced in, arms full and holding her wand in her teeth.

The class immediately stopped chatting and paid attention.

"Well!" Professor Ao began, piling a large amount of different belongings and folders onto her desk, removing her wand from her mouth with a flourish, "An attentive class! Lovely! Pleased to meet you all!"

She waved her wand across the board behind her head, and the words _Defense Against the Dark Arts _appeared in twirling, girly handwriting.

"My name," She continued, turning back to the class, "Is Professor Marie Ao."

She grinned, "But you already know that! So let me tell you something you do not know. I am fresh from Auror training. Very hard! Very hard course to complete."

She leaned on the side of her desk, and a hint of seriousness crossed her features, "But also very worth it. Anyone here wish to become an Auror for their career?"

A few hands rose, including Harry and Ron's, and Malfoy coughed discretely, sneering at Ron. Ron noticed, and turned red. Hermione glared at Malfoy, who just looked at her intensely, as though daring her to stand up to him, until she turned away in a huff.

"Ah, good, good," Professor Ao nodded, "Well, I shall endeavour to teach you everything you will need to know to get you started with your training and to begin your Defensive career. And for the rest of you," she added, "Do not think this does not apply to you! Defense against the Dark Arts is _extremely_ important to learn, because… Can anyone tell me why they think it is important for not only those in a Defense career to learn?"

Hermione's hand shot up, although many others who were members of the DA raised their hands as well.

"Yes?" Professor Ao gestured at Hermione, who was, after all the first to raise her hand.

"Because we need to know how to defend ourselves in the outside world. We, as students, will not always be safe here, at Hogwarts, and with a wizarding war looming, we need as many defensive skills as we can get." Hermione rattled off, enthusiastically.

Professor Ao nodded, notably impressed, "Correct Miss…"

"Granger," Hermione supplied.

"Miss Granger, you have received the first ten points for Gryffindor this school year for your wise advice," Professor Ao smiled, and the other Gryffindor students grinned.

"Now," Professor Ao went to continue, before Lavender Brown raised her hand, Parvati giggling at her side.

"Yes?" Professor Ao inquired, confused.

"Pardon me, Professor, but we were wondering where you got your necklace?" Lavender said, with a sweet, somewhat false smile.

Professor Ao frowned, her hand moving to her red polka-dotted ribbon hanging around her neck, a large purple beetle charm hanging from it, "Miss…"

"Brown. Lavender Brown," Lavender said confidently.

"Well, Miss Brown, I'm disappointed that the location of purchase referring to my necklace is the chief question in your mind right now." She said sternly, disapprovingly, "What do you hope to claim as your career once you have left school?"

"Oh, I don't know," Lavender dismissed, "I'm not worried about that right now."

"Well, it shows," Said Professor Ao severely, "I don't mind that you don't know what you want to do after you finish school yet, but I'd appreciate it if you showed a little bit more of the wisdom that Miss Granger here has already shown. There are far more important things you should be thinking and inquiring about other than mere jewellery when there is a wizarding war at hand."

Hermione blushed at the praise she had received, and Ron snorted at Lavender, who flushed deeply and looked extremely put out. Harry dug Ron in the ribs to shut him up.

_Well,_ Hermione thought to herself amusedly, _I don't think Lavender and Parvati will think much of 'awesome' Professor Ao now!_

"Now, no more nonsensical questions please," Said Professor Ao, "I am going to tell you about the defensive magic I will teach you this year."

The lesson continued, and Hermione was thrilled with Professor Ao, as she was sure her fellow students were (apart from Lavender and Parvati). Professor Ao had a way about her that took no nonsense, like Professor McGonagall, showed a bit of a wacky side, like dim-witted but wise Dumbledore crossed with Luna Lovegood, and was incredibly knowledgeable in Defensive magic, almost as much as Professor Lupin had been. She had a woman's sense that matched Moody's magical eye, and managed to throw a paperweight shaped like a Hippogriff accurately at Pansy's head when she was caught sending a note to her girl friend.

Hermione left the DADA lesson that day feeling very pleased and satisfied with the way this particular class looked as though it would go this year.

"You better hang on to her, mate," Harry said to Ron cheekily as they walked along the corridor to their next lesson, gesturing in Hermione's direction.

"Huh?" Ron replied, glancing at Hermione briefly before raising an eyebrow at Harry.

"You're not the only one on Hermione's mind," Harry teased, "She's in love with Professor Ao."

Hermione snapped out of her reverie, "Oh shut up, Harry!" She exclaimed, "But isn't she absolutely brilliant?"

Harry laughed, "See?" And nudged Ron.

Ron laughed, and Hermione scowled all the way to Potions.

* * *

The trio was not happy to be sitting in the Potions dungeon on their first day at Hogwarts. Ron showed his distaste by groaning audibly every two minutes, Harry by brooding and chewing in the end of a quill.

Hermione just waited patiently, simply happy to be in a classroom, regardless of the subject or Professor.

Professor Snape strode into the dingy classroom, eyes narrowed as per usual. He dumped a stack of parchment on the desk and turned slowly to face the class.

He leered at them menacingly, "So," He drawled, "I see I _now_ have an adequate amount of idiots to teach the art of Potions this year."

"It's a pity," He continued, beginning to pace forwards and amongst the students, "That only a select few of you _really_ deserve to be in my classroom this year, however…"

He paused directly behind Harry and Ron, "The _headmaster_ has thought it best to _lower my standards_."

Harry and Ron scowled, and Hermione saw the Slytherins, particularly Malfoy, sneering at them. She was pleased, though, to note that Pansy had not made it into this class.

"So," Professor Snape continued, "I will _not_ be alleviating _any_ of my lesson plans to make them… simpler for the simple amongst us." He stood leering at the back of Harry and Ron's heads for a moment, before reluctantly moving on.

"Lesson one!" He said forcefully, signaling the beginning of the actual lesson, "You will brew, or attempt to brew, one small vial of an intoxicating potion called Felix Felicis."

He flicked his wand in the direction of the blackboard, and step-by-step instructions appeared in small, neat writing.

"As there are certain steps to the development of this potion that need to be performed at the exact same time, it is impossible for one person alone to create it." He said, before rounding on the class, smirking, "Which is why, I am going to have to pair you off."

Harry and Ron immediately glanced at one another. Snape had separated them from working together before, simply to spite them. Noticing this, however, Professor Snape rolled his eyes disdainfully and addressed them, "Never mind, Potter, Weasley – you two go with one another quite perfectly. Both brainless. Stay where you are."

Harry and Ron scowled, but Hermione could tell they were still pleased to be left together.

Professor Snape retrieved a piece of parchment from his desk, evidently listed with his students' names, and began pairing off students with one another dependent upon their apparent O.W.L. results. Hermione thought this was patronizing, but then again, it was Snape. She just hoped she would be paired with someone adept enough to not ruin her class average.

"Granger…" Snape paused, having paired of most of his students by now. Hermione knew that he had now reached his 'O' students, and in that split second, she realized the only other person that could possibly have attained an 'O' in Potions was…

"Malfoy." Snape's eyes glittered, sickeningly amused.

Hermione's eyes widened and her head snapped in Malfoy's direction. She heard Ron and Harry muttering behind her in horror, but all she saw was Malfoy leaning back in his chair complacently, watching her with that damned smug smirk of his.

* * *

_**AN:**__Ooh! Anyone else get a shiver of pleasure down their spine just then? Please review!_


	8. Chapter 8: Unlikely

_**AN: **__Thanks for your reviews guys, I love you!_

_**Musical Catharsis: **__I agree Draco is quite moody; I just can't seem to get his character quite right yet. Thanks for noticing Lol. I plan on him opening up a little more very soon. Yes, I was planning on very loosely following the plotline of HBP, but no doubt the story will probably taper off at some stage into something completely different. I am as sure of this as you are at the moment unfortunately!_

* * *

**Chapter Eight: Unlikely**

Ron grabbed Hermione's arm as she reluctantly got up to move over to work with Malfoy.

"'Mione," He said quietly, concerned, "Be careful."

Hermione smiled down at Ron briefly. She was definitely feeling apprehensive about working with Malfoy, but she also was not in the least bit scared of him. She was perhaps more scared of herself, after all, she did not want to lose her temper with him and punch him in the face again, (which had most definitely previously happened, and felt _wonderful_) but she knew that it was far from a wise idea to do so under the hooked nose of Snape.

Hermione gave Ron a reassuring expression, indicating that she would be just fine, and grudgingly moved over to Malfoy's desk.

"Malfoy," She sniffed politely, after all, they were young adults now, no point in being immature about things. _As long as he did the schoolwork properly_, she thought.

Malfoy still sat there, eyes slightly narrowed, smirking, "Granger."

Hermione ignored him and immediately began setting out the equipment and ingredients necessary to create _Felix Felicis_. She pulled out her wand and was about to ignite a small fire beneath her cauldron when Malfoy drawled, "I wouldn't be doing that if I were you."

Hermione froze, swiveled to face him and snapped, "Oh? And why would that be? I think I know what I am doing," She scowled impatiently.

"Uh-huh," Malfoy sarcastically agreed, "Then tell me why it says in Step 5 to begin adding the first ingredients to a cauldron at _room_ temperature?"

Malfoy didn't even bother glancing towards the blackboard, but Hermione's head snapped in that direction and sure enough, _Step 5: Add mixture to cauldron at room temperature._

Her wand arm dropped to her side subconsciously, defeated. She had almost ruined her first assignment of the year, all because she was perturbed about working with Malfoy.

_Pay attention,_ she scolded herself angrily.

Meanwhile, Malfoy had lazily unfolded his legs, stood up and calmly began to grind pepper roots in a small bowl.

Hermione cleared her throat and ordered her shaking hands to begin counting beetle eyes. She took a couple of minutes to realize it, but she was impressed. Malfoy had not demeaned her, simply corrected her. And that was the impressive part – the git was _right_!

_In fact_, Hermione thought, _that's downright maddening_.

She frowned in frustration, and promised herself, _I will not let Malfoy show me up. I'm smarter than him._

They spent the remainder of the lesson working away studiously, not speaking. Hermione was grateful for this – at least Malfoy was smart enough to know when to shut up, put his head down and concentrate. These were the _N.E.W.T.s_ for crying out aloud!

Malfoy stopped stirring the potion, and glanced at Hermione, who was holding the small vial, and she knew the potion was finished. She reached into the cauldron and carefully spooned the _Felix Felicis_ into the vial, careful to do so slowly, so no air got trapped. Malfoy handed her a small cork, and she stoppered the vial. Their eyes met unexpectedly, and Hermione gulped, then nodded conclusively.

_Teamwork,_ they seemed to say to one another. Malfoy turned away to begin cleaning their work surface, and Hermione carried the small vial of potion up to the front desk, trying to keep her hand steady, feeling strangely disturbed.

_That was easy,_ She thought, _Almost __too__ easy. Getting along with __Malfoy__? What is happening to the world?_

* * *

Hermione walked along slightly behind Harry and Ron towards the Great Hall, tummies rumbling eagerly for lunch.

"Sorry," Harry turned from his Quidditch conversation with Ron to Hermione, "I didn't even ask. Was everything okay with Malfoy in Potions?"

Ron blinked, and Hermione felt a small pang of disappointment. Ron hadn't even bothered to ask her how things went. She brushed it aside and answered, "It's okay. It went fine. I didn't talk to him, and he didn't talk to me. We got the potion made, and that's all that matters."

Ron stuttered, "You actually managed to _finish_ it? Blimey, Hermione, that's one bloody hard potion to make, as you obviously didn't manage to notice."

Harry chuckled, "Ron, you forget our 'Mione here is the most brilliant witch of our age, of course she would have finished it, and not only that, she would have made it perfectly."

Hermione reddened, and replied modestly, "I didn't do it all myself."

Harry raised his eyebrows, and Ron burst out, "No way! You did _not_ just stand up for Malfoy."

"As _you_ obviously didn't manage to notice, Ron," Hermione said tetchily, "Snape said it was a potion that couldn't be made by oneself without assistance, so… so get over it."

And she stormed off, exasperated with Ron. As she sat down at the Gryffindor table in a huff, she realized suddenly that working with Malfoy had been a nice change, in the sense that at least he knew what he was doing. With Ron, Hermione was always correcting him, always re-doing his work that wasn't up to scratch, and always compromising her own quality of work to help him. As much as Hermione detested Malfoy, she acknowledged that he was an intelligent wizard, and that it was a high possibility that he had actually earned his 'O' in Potions, after all.

She awoke suddenly from her reverie when Malfoy met her eyes from across the hall. She had been gazing at him whilst deep in thought. She composed herself hurriedly and ran a hand over her hair, and busily piled food onto her plate, ignoring Harry and Ron's glances beside her.

* * *

As the trio left the Great Hall after lunch, Hermione had calmed down enough to mutter, "Sorry," shrugging to Ron, and he acknowledged sulkily, "S'ok." She was a little disheartened when Ron continued to sulk, and did not snap out of his mood the entire afternoon.

In their last class period of the day, she was glad to discover they had it free. Whilst the boys talked of playing chess in the Gryffindor common room, Hermione decided she would give Ron some space. So she excused herself, mentioning that she wanted to study (which raised no questions seeing as it was her favourite pastime) and headed back towards the prefect dorms.

She ambled along leisurely, in no hurry to get anywhere. She was too deep in thought and was trying to deal with the mixed emotions that had nestled within her during her first day. First, there was Ron.

_Oh, I love him,_ Hermione thought, _But why is he so… touchy? And dear Harry, he is such a good mediator, even though he doesn't have to be, Oh! How I love him too._

Hermione stopped in her tracks. _Wait. I love Harry too?_

She groaned audibly, _Does this mean I love dear Ron the same way I love dear Harry?_

Hermione bit her lip, and delved deeper into her feelings. _No, _she decided, _there is definitely something more there for Ron than Harry. Just… he's so difficult! He's adorable, but he really needs to grow up sometimes…_

Hermione sighed in frustration, _And what the hell was that in Potions today? With… with Malfoy? That was… unexpected. But we made the _Felix Felicis_ perfectly! We are sure to get perfect marks for that, _she thought happily.

She giggled slightly aloud, _Oh my goodness, I can't believe it… for once Ron is making me mad and… Malfoy is making me happy! I must be completely insane…_

Hermione had reached the prefect statues of armour, and, shaking her head to clear her thoughts, stepped forward and entered.

* * *

Hermione was settled into one of the study nooks in the prefect dorm when Hannah burst into the common room, giggling.

She saw that Hermione was the only one present and made a beeline for her.

"Hermione," She gasped, taking a seat, "Can I talk to you?"

Hermione marked her place, closed her tome and said, "Sure," aware that this was another opportunity to strengthen inter-house friendships.

"Well," said Hannah, "It's only just happened, but I just _have_ to tell someone!"

She began flapping her arms, in a way not unlike Lavender or Parvati when they had some gossip to spread.

Hermione smiled amusedly, "What is it?"

Hannah covered her mouth as if she was about to unleash a great secret, then burst out, "I have a _boyfriend!_" And squealed, blushing furiously.

Hermione laughed, and then said, "No way! That's really great, Hannah!" She groaned inwardly, _But… How will Neville take this? _"Who is it?"

"Neville Longbottom," Hannah whispered confidentially, and Hermione let out a breath of relief, "He sent me a note asking me out! Isn't that romantic?"

Personally, Hermione didn't think it was _that _romantic, but nodded, "That's really wonderful Hannah, I'm happy for you!"

Hannah jumped up and squealed again, "Oh! I am _so_ excited!" Then paused, "Oh I have to go and find Padma! …She's not here, is she?"

Hermione shook her head, and Hannah ran from the common room, practically floating on air and bouncing off the walls. Hermione chuckled, and re-opened her book. She was so happy for Neville that it had worked out for him.

But then she stopped, and her smile slid from her face. _I wasn't __that__ excited,_ she realized, _I mean, I went and told Ginny about Ron and me, but… it was more because I knew she was expecting it… Wasn't it?_

She frowned; _I'm not like Hannah, though, _she reasoned, _I just don't go all girly on people as soon as I get a boyfriend. Yeah, _she decided, _That's all it is. I'm Hermione Granger, level-headed, by-the-book, actually probably very boring as a girlfriend, and… quarrelling with my boyfriend on our first day together._

Hermione groaned for the umpteenth time that day, and laid her head gently within the pages of her book, _You're stressing out again, Hermione…_

* * *

_**AN:**__ Poor Hermione, it seems she is doing her head in with all this thinking, and she hasn't even started on her schoolwork yet… I hope you liked this chapter, please review!_

_Also, I know you are all going to hate me, but I am going away for a week, and won't be able to access the internet. However, I will be taking my laptop with me, so I can get some writing done ready to post as soon as I have returned. So stay tuned! Don't leave me!_


	9. Chapter 9: The Youngest Yet

_**AN: **__Thanks for being patient while I was away. I didn't get to do as much writing as I would have liked, but here's a bigger chapter to satisfy you (hopefully) while I work on the next one. Thanks for all your wond__erful and helpful reviews, too! xx_

* * *

**Chapter Nine: ****The Youngest Yet**

Hermione was still attempting to study a half hour later when Ron entered the prefect common room, seemingly in a better mood. He spotted Hermione reading and headed over, taking a seat beside her.

Hermione, unsure of how to act, lowered her book to show she was listening, but didn't look at him.

"Hermione..." Ron began, "I think we kind of got off to a rough start, don't you think?"

Hermione couldn't help but chuckle, and softening at Ron's uncertain, bashful tone, she leaned into his shoulder warmly, "It's okay Ron... I suppose it's just... new, and everything seems to be happening all at once..."

She sat up, and considered Ron seriously, "I mean, first there's this... this room, and our new teacher, we're starting our N.E.W.T.s, dealing with Harry..."

"Who," Ron interrupted, "Is in _much_ better spirits, by the way." He smirked, and Hermione blinked.

"When we went up to Gryffindor Tower, I was expecting a nice, quiet game of Wizard's Chess," he said, leaning back in his seat, "But as soon as we walked through the portrait hole, he walked straight over to Ginny, pulled her up from her seat and in front of everyone, asked her to be his girlfriend!"

Hermione gasped in delight, and clapped her hands over her mouth.

Ron continued, "I had no idea he was going to do it, but I suppose we _did_ kind of nag him about it before."

"That's wonderful!" Hermione replied, then slightly uncertainly, "Are you _sure_ you're okay with it?"

Ron shrugged, "Well... Harry's my best mate; I don't think there's anyone better for her... Although," he added, grimacing, "It _was_ kind of weird when they kissed."

"They _kissed_?" Hermione squealed, "In front of everyone?"

Ron shrugged again, and repeated, "It was weird."

Hermione giggled, "I think it's terrific!"

She paused; her expression grew serious and, meeting Ron's eyes in a firm gaze, and leaning in ever so slightly, she murmured, "...Is _this_ weird?"

Ron gulped, but got her hint. He lifted a hand to her hair and kissed her soundly.

Hermione couldn't help but feel reassured by the way she felt during that kiss. She felt comfortable and dismissed all of her earlier doubts. They had made up, and it felt right. _Hermione Weasley..._ the thought drifted across her mind, and she broke away from him, slightly choking, slightly giggling.

"What's the matter?" Ron asked her, panicking as though he had done something wrong.

"Oh," Hermione dismissed, "I'm sorry, nothing... I... I'm just... just happy." She smiled, and reassured, Ron continued to kiss her.

In fact, Hermione had been a little surprised at the image of herself being married to Ron, but then again, she had never thought about that stuff... ever. She was only sixteen, for goodness sake! There was plenty of time to worry about all that later.

"Oh," Hermione said, pulling away from Ron, "Did you hear about Neville...?"

Ron frowned, gesturing that he had not.

"He's with Hannah!" Hermione told him, and Ron raised his eyebrows, impressed, "That was quick!" He said, before chuckling, "Blimey! Everyone's pairing off! You'd think it was a full moon or something!"

Hermione laughed, "_What_?"

Ron blushed, "Oh, you know... Mum always said it... when it's a full moon, people get... you know, _romantic_."

Hermione raised her eyebrows, amused, but didn't say anything, making Ron blush harder.

"Well ...Oh never mind, forget I said anything!" He pouted, and Hermione just laughed, "I'm sorry, I'm not trying to make fun of you... It's just... it _is _funny!"

She wiped her eyes and said, "Actually, I'd like to go and see the new couple," referring to Harry and Ginny.

Ron groaned, "I just came from there, you can go if you want," Not unkindly, and gestured for her to leave.

"Honestly," he continued, as Hermione looked at him questioningly, "You go, I can hang around here for a bit."

"You sure?" Hermione asked, and Ron nodded, giving her a chaste kiss.

Hermione smiled, and stood to leave, "I'll be back in a bit, then."

* * *

Hermione walked along the corridor, feeling very relaxed and most definitely not as stressed as she had before. She heard voices around the next corner, but did not really pay attention until her ears spiked at the unmistakable giggle of Pansy Parkinson. Hermione groaned – surely Hogwarts was big enough that she didn't have to run into her so often?

_Apparently not,_ Hermione answered herself grimly, and took in a deep, steadying breath.

Just as she rounded the corner, she heard Pansy saying, "It's a huge honour, you should be happy, and you're the youngest yet!"

Once around the corner, Hermione immediately saw who she was speaking to – Malfoy, flanked by his cronies, Crabbe and Goyle. Hermione gasped slightly at being confronted by so many Slytherins.

Surprisingly, they did not see her at first. Malfoy was glaring at Pansy and spat, "It wasn't exactly my choice," before his eyes locked onto Hermione, and he immediately fell silent.

Pansy exclaimed, "Bite your tongue!" Before she followed Malfoy's line of sight and clamped her mouth shut herself.

Hermione had not stopped walking, but at this point she readied herself for any oncoming insults. Instead, Malfoy let out a "_Bah_!" and with a sweep of his cloak, marched off in the opposite direction. Crabbe and Goyle stumbled along behind him clumsily, and Pansy was left alone, standing awkwardly in the middle of the hallway.

Hermione couldn't prevent a small smile from escaping as she passed Pansy, enjoying the fact that she had just been downtrodden somehow by Malfoy. Once she was a safe distance away however, Hermione frowned and pondered what she had overheard. What could it mean?

_Harry would want to hear about this,_ Hermione thought.

* * *

Indeed, Harry was _very_ interested to hear what Hermione had overheard. He frowned, and leaned forward in his armchair, forcing Ginny to stand and move to his side, as she had been sitting in his lap.

"He should feel _honoured_? Youngest yet?" Harry pondered, rubbing his chin with his hand, before Ginny offered tentatively, "He's not... you know, a... a _Death Eater_, is he?"

Harry froze, and Hermione stuttered, "Oh my... My goodness..."

Ginny's eyes were wide, but it seemed she had hit the nail on the head.

Slowly turning to her, Harry said quietly, "You know, I think you must be right."

"It fits," Hermione groaned, clutching her chest, feeling shocked, "But... but he's only six_teen_..."

Harry's eyes darkened, "Voldemort is stooping extremely low, if he's inducting _kids_ into his service..."

"Well," replied Hermione, "He _did_ say something about it not being his choice... Perhaps his father made it come about?" She slumped backwards into her armchair.

"No doubt," Said Harry darkly, "_Lucius_ is an obvious favourite to his beloved _Dark Lord_. I don't even think he would blink twice at offering up his own son to score brownie points with the boss."

Ginny's chin quivered, and Harry snapped out of his reverie, turning to wrap her in his arms, "It's okay, Ginny. It's good we found this out when we did..."

"It's terrible," Ginny replied, slightly tearful, "I mean, I _hate_ Malfoy but he's like... our age. War really makes you grow up fast, doesn't it?"

Ginny's words were truth and wisdom put together and Hermione felt a hole appear in the pit of her stomach. She winced at the uncomfortable feeling and sighed, "Unfortunately, yes Ginny."

Surprisingly, but not unwelcomingly, Ginny leaned forward to Hermione and hugged her tightly. Hermione glanced at Harry over Ginny's shoulder and was touched to see his eyes welling up slightly with tears.

"We'll all be okay," She heard herself say, patting Ginny on the back, "We all have each other and that's the way it's going to stay."

Ginny sniffled slightly and pulled back from Hermione smiling gratefully, and nestled quietly against Harry. Hermione noticed that a couple of other Gryffindors were looking at them curiously, wondering what could have caused such a mood change in the new, happy couple of Harry and Ginny.

Hermione cleared her throat and said quietly to Harry, "I think we should go and see Dumbledore."

Harry paused, then nodded sombrely, and giving Ginny a swift kiss on her forehead, stood with Hermione to leave.

* * *

They headed towards the Headmaster's office, unspeaking. Hermione knew that Harry already suspected wrongdoing from Malfoy, and did not really want to encourage any theories until they had spoken to Professor Dumbledore and heard what he had to say about the matter.

At one point, they passed Neville and Hannah, the latter giggling heartily and the former blushing, looking very pleased with himself.

Hermione looked back after them fondly, "Aren't they the sweetest couple ever?"

Harry smiled half-heartedly, but nodded with his agreement. Hermione suspected that this latest information on Malfoy was worrying him more than he let on, and remained silent the remainder of the trip, leaving him to his thoughts.

As they arrived at the stone gargoyles representing the entrance to the Headmaster's office, Hermione exclaimed suddenly, "_Blast_! Ron doesn't know any of this yet..."

She turned hesitantly to Harry, "I think I should go and tell him. Do you mind seeing Dumbledore by yourself?"

Harry shrugged and shook his head. Hermione thanked him and hurried off in the direction of the prefect common rooms, holding her chest painfully.

_The war is really here_, she thought, stressfully, _even inside Hogwarts!_ _Oh please let Dumbledore help us_.

She found the two statues of armour, impatiently pushed through the darkness and hurried up to Ron, who was lounging on one of the squishy couches in front of the campfire.

"Ron," She said breathlessly, and he looked up, startled.

"What is it?" He asked, standing up quickly and tripping over his own gangly legs.

Hermione couldn't help but giggle wearily at this spectacle but quickly regained her seriousness as she stepped towards him and buried herself in his arms. Ron held her softly, but Hermione could hear the concerned tension in his voice as he repeated, "What is it, 'Mione?"

Hermione pulled away from him, took in a deep breath and told him in a hurried, low voice what she had witnessed and heard.

"Bloody hell," Said Ron as she finished, "It sounds as though Ginny guessed right. What do you think Dumbledore will do?"

Hermione put a hand to her forehead and sighed, "Well firstly I hope he believes us…" She lifted her hand slightly and smacked herself on the forehead, "Of course he'll believe Harry, silly Hermione… I… I don't know, do you want to go and catch Harry as he leaves?"

"Sure," Ron said, and taking Hermione's hand securely, they left the prefect common room and headed towards Dumbledore's office.

* * *

Hermione and Ron hung outside Dumbledore's office impatiently until Harry appeared, looking slightly calmer. They rushed up to him, eager to hear what Dumbledore had said.

Harry relieved their impatience by speaking lowly but clearly, "Dumbledore actually did not seem very surprised," he began, "which doesn't surprise _me_ in the least. He said he's spoken to Snape about it…"

"Snape!" Ron spat, interrupting him.

"…Who is spy for our side, remember?" Harry answered him with raised eyebrows.

Ron mumbled his assent and shrugged sheepishly, allowing Harry to continue, "And, Dumbledore reckons that Snape's going to do some digging about why Malfoy has been inducted so young…"

"To try and find out what he's up to," Hermione finished for him.

Harry nodded, "That's all Dumbledore would tell me, although," he added, "he did mention that he wanted to see me again tomorrow, so maybe he plans to tell me more then."

Ron nodded, but Hermione frowned thoughtfully.

"Just you?" She asked offhandedly, trying not to sound offended.

Harry's eyes widened slightly, realizing what Hermione was implying, "Oh… Well then, maybe it has to do with something else," he shrugged.

Hermione chewed at the corner of her lip but left it at that. Ron's stomach chose that moment to growl loudly and he looked up startled as Harry and Hermione burst out laughing, breaking the tense mood.

"Must be dinner time," Ron said sheepishly, and they headed down to the Great Hall.

* * *

They sat down at the Gryffindor table, and Harry reunited with Ginny, smothering her in fond kisses. Ron looked at them greenly and Hermione nudged him, reminding him that he was hungry. Ron immediately forgot that his best friend and baby sister were canoodling publicly beside him and tucked into the roast potatoes keenly. Hermione smiled fondly at Ron, before she noticed Neville sitting across from her.

"Neville," She greeted him warmly, and he looked up from his plate, surprised.

Hermione laughed, "In your own little world over there, I see?" And Neville blushed, "Sorry Hermione, I didn't notice you guys arrive."

"It's okay," Hermione brushed it aside, "You have every reason to be only thinking of one thing right now." She winked at him, and Neville turned another shade deeper, unsuccessfully trying to hide a wide grin.

Hermione giggled, and loaded her own plate from the usual scrumptious Hogwarts spread. Biting into some roast pumpkin, she felt rather warm and content inside and thought, _Perhaps my first day at Hogwarts hasn't been so bad, after all._


	10. Chapter 10: Thoughts

_**AN: **__Sorry guys, this is a really short chapter. Work has been terribly busy, so I've been pretty exhausted and not in the mood to write as much. Hopefully this satiates your appetite until next time… :) Thanks so much for reviewing the last chapter, please keep them coming in! I love to know what you're thinking about the story._

* * *

**Chapter Ten:**** Thoughts**

That night, Hermione had a lot of trouble sleeping. She tossed and turned, tormented with visions of Malfoy attacking students in Hogwarts as they lay asleep. He slept right across the hallway from her, for goodness sake! She knew she was probably being more than irrational with these thoughts, but it did not chase away the fact that he was now a Death Eater. A _Death Eater! _The _youngest_ Death Eater. She could not get the words out of her mind, and she rolled over once again, moaning in restlessness. She had never really thought about it before until now, but she never honestly expected that he would follow in his father's footsteps. He was a bullying git, that was for certain, but at the same time, he was _intelligent_.

_An intelligent wizard would be able to see that Voldemort's ways are wrong, _Hermione thought, heaving herself out of bed for a quick glass of water. As she sipped the cool liquid, her mind eased its stressed whirring somewhat. _He said it wasn't his choice, which shows that it is possible he himself is being bullied by his father, _she reminded herself, and as she allowed her frown to drop from her face she was shocked to discover that a small remnant of pity was settling at the bottom of her stomach.

_Well, _she concluded sleepily, _Whatever. Dumbledore will sort it all out..._

Hermione yawned widely and fell back onto her soft pillow, where she fell asleep within seconds.

* * *

The following morning, Hermione awoke rather disconcertedly, and it took her a few seconds to comprehend why. She had been dreaming. It had been a sweet dream, which had involved her wrapped safely in Ron's arms, watching the sun set at the Burrow. She had turned her head up to look at Ron fondly, but instead she found herself looking into the cool, grey eyes of Draco Malfoy. She jerked away from him hurriedly in shock, but he just continued to stare at her sadly, and no matter how hard she tried, she could not look away.

Now, Hermione groaned audibly and thought, _No bloody wonder I feel uncomfortable, who would after such a strange dream?_

She got out of bed and looked at her watch. Her eyes widened as she realised she had even missed breakfast, and if she didn't get a move on she was going to be late for her first class!

"Bugger!" She exclaimed and ran into her bathroom to get ready.

After she had washed her face and pulled on her robes, she grabbed her wand and books from her writing table and burst from her room. As she entered the empty common room, she grabbed an apple from the snack shelves and headed towards the exit. She noticed the new patrol roster for the next two days was written on the noticeboard and paused to check it. She was not on duty, but saw Ron's name alongside Pansy's.

"What..." She groaned, _Poor Ron! Why couldn't they put him with me? Yes, yes, _she chided herself, _Inter-house friendships, right..._

"As if you'll get Ron and Pansy to be friends," She mumbled to herself as she stepped through the darkness out into the hall.

* * *

As the trio sat in Transfiguration that morning, Ron reminded Hermione of the delicious breakfast she had missed, and she responded irritably with her stomach growling, which made Ron giggle. Professor McGonagall walked over to where they were sitting, looked over the top of her spectacles at Ron and asked him to demonstrate what they were learning, at which Ron failed miserably, giving Hermione the last laugh (along with the rest of the class).

To rub it in even more, Hermione raised the subject of his prefect patrol partner, Pansy._**AN:**__OMG__! Try saying that altogether really fast!)_

"So," she said smugly, "I hear you have a hot date later on tonight."

Harry's ears pricked up, and Ron scowled, "Bah! I don't know what they're playing at."

"What's this?" Harry asked.

"Ron has to patrol with Pansy tonight," Hermione told him, grinning, "Sounds like fun, huh!"

Harry laughed, and Ron glared at him, "I'd like to see _you_ attempt it."

"Anyway," He added to Hermione, "I don't intend speaking to her the whole time, so it won't be like I'm hanging out with her or anything."

"Uh-huh," Hermione nodded, enjoying Ron's uncertainty, before she dissolved into giggles and received a stern glance from Professor McGonagall, reminding her she had precious schoolwork to attend to.

* * *

After lunch, Hermione had an Ancient Runes class to attend, whilst the boys were to enjoy another free study period.

"Use it to study," She reprimanded them, "Or it will catch up on you later."

Ron and Harry nodded to her seriously, but Ron nudged Harry and the two boys gave in to a hearty chuckle. Hermione rolled her eyes and shrugged, "Fine, do what you want, but don't come to me for help later."

"Her-my-neeeee," Ron whined.

"Harry," Hermione said, ignoring Ron, "Didn't you say Dumbledore wanted to see you again today?"

Ron pouted, and Harry blinked, but then replied, "You're right, he did. I can't believe I almost forgot about it," He turned to Ron, "Mate, you're going to have to entertain yourself for a bit, I have to go see him."

Ron sighed, "Fine... But I want to hear about it as soon as you finish."

Harry nodded, and Hermione interrupted by giving Ron a quick hug, saying goodbye and heading to her class.

* * *

Hermione enjoyed Ancient Runes as usual, although this year it was noticeably more difficult. She worked hard alongside Ernie, and was pleased to have formed what looked to become a steady inter-house friendship. When it was over, she began the trek to her next class, where she would meet up with Harry and Ron again.

She turned into a corridor that was deserted apart from Peeves whistling down in one corner, concentrating on sticking his head into a portrait, frightening its occupants into the next frame, and following them, sticking his head through _that_ one, and so on.

Hermione shook her head amusedly at his antics, but was pleased he did not choose to bother her.

She gasped suddenly as a person stepped out from the shadows in front of her, bringing her to a halt. It was Malfoy. He grabbed her by the front of her robes and said menacingly, "How much did you hear yesterday, Granger?"

Hermione struggled, but could not free herself, "Not much, _Malfoy,_" she spat his name, "But _enough_."

She immediately chastised herself; she should not have revealed that she suspected him.

"You better be careful to keep your fat mouth shut then," Malfoy sneered, "If you know what's good for you."

"Oh, I know what's good for me," Hermione snapped back, "It's a pity there aren't more of us who do."

Malfoy opened his palm so that her robes dropped from his grip, and he cocked his head slightly, eyes narrowed. For the umpteenth time, Hermione expected an insult (or a hex) but none came. She hesitated, almost as though encouraging him to insult her; however he just continued to stare at her with his cool, grey eyes. Hermione took a step backwards, disturbed by the similarity of the situation to her dream last night. She swallowed slightly, managed a glare and swept past him, leaving him alone in the hallway.

* * *

Hermione met the boys in the Great Hall for lunch. She took a seat next to Ron, and leaned over him to ask Harry, "How did things go with Dumbledore? Was it about you-know what?"

Harry looked at her, wincing, "Actually, no. It's something… completely different. I'll have to tell you later, somewhere less… public."

Hermione blinked, but said, "Okay," and focused on making herself a sandwich. As she chewed, she decided not to mention that Malfoy had accosted her in the corridor. Ron would only get all macho-protective and then screw it up anyway, and Harry seemed as though he had other, more important things on his mind. Besides, it wasn't like Malfoy had hurt her. He had threatened her, but that was nothing new there. Hermione was surprised at how well she had handled the situation. She had expected herself to be afraid of Malfoy from now on, but there was nothing distinct about him that had changed.

"'Mione…" Ron said, waving his hand across her face, "Earth to Hermione…"

"Huh?" Hermione snapped awake, her mouth full.

"I asked you what you were so deep in thought about," Ron replied, shoving his own mouth full with pie.

"Oh…" Hermione replied, swallowing her mouthful, "Nothing, really."

"I had a dream about you last night," Ron continued, chewing openly and causing Hermione to wince, "We were at the Burrow, out the front. Did you dream about me?" Ron winked, blindly missing the look Hermione had on her face as she stuttered, "Uh… Yes, I… I _did_ actually… Isn't that uncanny?" She laughed weakly but turned away in horror. She had just been _thinking_ about Malfoy, _dreaming_ about him last night… Malfoy was on her mind _far_ too much!

* * *

That evening found the trio settled in the Gryffindor common room, working on a rather tedious Transfiguration essay as Ginny practised her Charms.

Ron groaned loudly and put his head into his hands, complaining, "This is _so_ boring. Why do we have to learn this again?"

"Because," Hermione snapped, "It is an assignment set by a Professor, and it _may_ come up in our N.E.W.T.s exams."

"Which isn't until the end of next year," Ron muttered, earning himself a stern glare from Hermione. She turned to Harry to ask him how his essay was coming along and noticed he was staring at his page, eyes unmoving.

"Harry," she chided, "It doesn't look like you're working at all. It's due on Friday, which only gives us…"

"I know, Hermione," Harry interrupted her, not unkindly, as he closed his book and sighed, rubbing his eyes, "It's just this stuff that Dumbledore's…"

"Oh," Hermione gasped, "You haven't told us yet! Oh Harry, how could you not remind us? Tell us!"

Harry managed a tired chuckle, "You were on our backs about getting this essay done all afternoon, I haven't had a chance!"

Hermione managed to look slightly rueful and Ron said, "I can't believe she managed to make me forget to ask you about it, Harry!"

"Well," Harry began, as Ginny put down her wand and Ron and Hermione put down their quills and leaned in, "It's like this…"

* * *


End file.
